Perseus of Normandy
by Dragons of all realms
Summary: Born the illegitimate younger brother of William of Normandy, the son of a god and a mother who disappeared, Perseus grew to develop quite the reputation. To the mortals he became the Greek General, a conqueror with no aspirations of power. To the Gods, he became their immortal enforcer, and the adopted brother to Artemis.
1. Beaches of England

**Hi, just Re-did the formating on this, hopefully it works. This is new version of the first chapter, so it kind of stuffs up my second chapter authors note, oh well. Yep, I don't own any of the real Percy J books, and... uh... yeah, Please review.**

Chapter 1- Beaches of England.

Perseus twitched his shield slightly, deflecting the jarring impact of the Anglo-Saxon blade to the side. Quickly pushing his shield into the man, he sliced at the man's hip with the bloodied metal of his own sword. Swearing, the man jolted back, enabling Perseus to press his advantage. Feinting a swing at the man's head, he the dropped suddenly, driving the top of his shield into the jaw of the Briton. As he stumbled, Perseus jabbed through his stomach, before pulling his sword back and setting himself for his next opponent. "Is there no end to these British barbarians"? He muttered in Greek, the battle had raged since the morning and had no signs of letting up. As he saw the Norman forces fleeing from the British shield wall, he began to smirk. One of the Saxons facing him growled, "What are you smirking at, Norman dog, your men are fleeing." Instead of railing at the man, Perseus's smirk only got wider, "Watch".

As the two enemies looked on, the Norman forces suddenly turned, charging back into the chasing Saxons, hacking them down. A bark of rage suddenly distracted Perseus, bringing him back to the conflict at hand. "Trickery!" the man growled. Perseus tutted, shaking his head at the Saxon, "No, no, no my dear man… tactics, clever ones to if I might say so myself."

"You," the man spat out, "You did this." Perseus shrugged under his breastplate, "what gave it away? The fact that I'm armoured like no one else on this field, of the fact that I told you?" He had to admit, he felt bad about taunting the man, he was a good soldier, but if he wanted to get through that shield wall he was going to have to break someone. It worked, the man charged out of the line, running at Perseus as if to cut him down with the first stroke. Flicking the blow to the side, Perseus spun round the man, before cutting him down. Then, in what many thought was a fit of madness, he charged through the gap the man had left.

Slicing left and right, parrying and thrusting like mad, Perseus hacked his way through the line, eventually breaking through to the other side. It wasn't hard to spot his target; he had a huge banner waving over him after all. The men in the line behind him bellowed in rage, but were unable to turn, too busy dealing with those who had followed him into the gap. Dodging the occasional arrow as he went, Perseus ran up hill towards Harold of England. Slamming his sword point first into the ground, Perseus grabbed one of his spears. Arching back, he suddenly snapped forward, throwing the projectile into a huge arc. _Idiots_, he thought as the guards followed the motion of the spear, Perseus snatched up his sword again and ran onwards. The spear struck the closest guard, going straight through his chest and sticking into the leg of the guard behind him. By the time the soldiers had turned back around, the archaic warrior was upon them.

He slammed his shield into the head of one, knocking him unconscious, before slicing leg of another, smashing the hilt of his sword into his head to put him down. He then spun, forcing the group to jump back, but catching one of the men in the side, the steel tearing through the poor quality chainmail like paper. One of the men sliced at Perseus, managing to score a thin line along the bare skin of his bicep, and eliciting a small growl of annoyance. _ Stupid_, Perseus bit at himself, _I need to be more careful, or one of these days I'll be the one on the ground._ Snarling under the Spartan helmet, Perseus slammed his sword down onto the Saxons shield, twice in quick succession, before slicing under the raised shield, the metal biting into the chest of the soldier. Another one charged at him, and Perseus ducked into the charge, dropping lower before powering upwards, using his shield to throw the man over his shoulder. The other men had some form of spears in their hands, they seemed like a cross between a sword and a spear, the tips being too long to be any use for throwing. Once more burying his sword in the ground, he grabbed his second spear off his back. It was slightly shorter than those of the guard, but he wasn't intending to get that close. Setting his body again, he flung his spear through the throat of the centre guard, before grabbing his sword and running towards them. He deflected the first spear to the left of himself, before rolling to the right and slicing upwards to cut off the head of two of the spears. Beyond their blades, he realized, the spears were useless for any form of combat as they lacked the manoeuvrability of throwing spears, _but in a Macedonian phalanx_… he couldn't help but grimace at the idea of one of those with these spears. Eventually, all the guards were down, most dead, but a few simply unconscious. Perseus grimaced as he looked around. Was this all he was, he wondered, a weapon to be wielded in battle… a tool. _For too many years my life has been bloodshed and war. _He stared at "King" Harold as the black-eyed son of Hades approached.

"Why are you so determined that I die." He asked, anger evident on his pale face, "You are a demigod, you have no stake in who rules England!"

Perseus frowned, "Even Demigods have mortal family, and it was from my brother that you stole this thrown. What is more I do not wish you dead, as I told you through the iris message, your father wishes to meet you."

"My father is lord of the underworld, the way to meet him is to die!" Harold exclaimed. Perseus shook his head, exasperated by the cruel reputation that Hades was given, even by his children.

"There are other ways to reach the Underworld, your father would only wish your death if you had dishonoured his name. As far as he has told me, he is actually proud of your accomplishments in England, and does not wish for you to die in this battle. It is more likely that he will make you his lieutenant than it is that he will kill you."

"If that is so," Harold began, "How would I get to the underworld?"

"Shadow travel." Perseus said simply.

"I can shadow travel to the Underworld!?" Harold gaped at him, "Isn't there some kind of barrier on entrance?"

"You are his favourite living mortal son, he has allowed you passage into his realm."

"I'm his only living mortal son."

"That might help." Perseus smirked. "Oh and remind your father of our deal."

Harold frowned at that, "What deal?"

"He'll know."

"Farewell Perseus, hand of Olympus."

"Farwell Harold of England, first enthroned son of Hades."

With that King Harold II disappeared into a flurry of shadows. The shadows began to dissipate slowly before; in flash of blackness, they formed solidarity once more. When the shadows disappeared once more, they left behind a corpse, identical to the King who had left before, except for one, rather important difference. It was dead. Perseus could easily tell it was dead as it had an arrow sticking halfway though its head, which is usually a pretty good hint. Atop the corpse rested a thick, engraved, leather bound book. Sending a quick thank you to Hades, for the book not the corpse, Perseus tucked the book under his shield arm, before collecting his spears. He hooked the spears back into their slots over his back, before hooking his shield atop them, slotting into the same shoulder belt, his sword he then slid into his scabbard.

Stooping over, Perseus swept the corpse up, carrying it to a point where all the men on the field of battle could see him. "SAXONS, BRITONS, HEAR ME!" he bellowed, catching the attention of all. "Your king is dead, pierced through the eye by a stray arrow as he faced me. Surrender. Bury your dead. You have fought honourably and shall be treated as such. I swear to you, you shall not be harmed should you surrender!"

"Why should we believe what you say? You could kill us all once we lay down our arms!" one pugnacious thane yelled out, stepping apart from the rest of the men.

"I would have thought that my armour would have made my identity obvious, ask your men who I am. Then ask if I can be trusted."

The thane turned back to his men, and a murmur of noise arose from around him. The man turned back, with a slightly mollified, if curious face.

"They seem to be of the opinion that you have never broken a vow."

"Well," Perseus frowned, "I may have broken a couple that I made to my mother when I was a lot younger. Definitely the swearing vow, that was gone a couple of weeks after I made it." The assembled men chuckled at that; everyone made promises to their mum. Hesitating for a second the thane who had spoken lay his axe and shield on the ground, before kneeling by them. As if that were a signal, the men behind him began to do the same, a cacophony of noise rang from the battle, and the Norman troops moved out of the battleground. Perseus moved quickly to the first thane.

"My friends unbend your knees. Warriors only bow to those above them, and I am nothing but a warrior like your selves. Please, stand." As the men around him began to rise Perseus grasped the forearm of the man in front of him.

"Bury your men, and give your king the honours he deserves. He and you alike fought valiantly." The man nodded, before seeming to hesitate. "Ask," Perseus said.

"What is your name, if I may. I do not simply wish to know you as the Greek General."

"Perseus of Normandy, and might I know yours in return?"

"Gyrth Godwinson, Earl of East Anglia." Perseus blinked before smiling, "And here I thought you were a thane. My brother William would much like to speak with you. Come I shall lead you to our command tent." Perseus turned quickly before turning back, "You should give the men the orders to care for your dead and wounded first. I will send someone to help you find William. I myself am in dire need of a bath."

"Bathing in winters bad for your health." Gyrth called after him,

"So is battle but we were still here this morning." Perseus called over his shoulder before disappearing into the woods. Gyrth turned quickly to the men behind him and began to issue commands.

"Perseus my brother," a large bearded man called out as Perseus approached the tent. "I trust it was you who secured the surrender?"

"The men gave me the time William, I just had to do a bit of talking." William of Normandy smirked at the slightly smaller man,

"I swear Perseus, everything that comes out of your mouth is either modest or it's a rousing speech to inspire loyalty in the men. Take a break from it, finally claim some credit, celebrate."

"You know if I had the time I could out drink the entire army, I'm not sure how the Britons would react to their new king getting beaten on his first day, might make them wonder why I'm not king." From any other man that could have come across as ambition, but from Perseus William knew it was simply a mark of humour.

"Ah Perseus, always so busy running after the demands of your pagan gods, I tell you, its much easier to have a god who doesn't actually ask you to do anything but be good."

"I'm not so sure, your god doesn't let you do this," he said spinning a ball of concentrated water on his finger.

"Show-off," William muttered.

"Anyway, I need to go put this," he said gesturing at the book that he still had under his arm, "in Atlantis. I refuse to carry it round."

"That's another book you've charged a god, and you still haven't told me what for…"

"New metal"

"…Beyond that it's a new metal. But thanks for interrupting anyway."

"Look, I have to carry two swords around constantly, one for mortals and one for immortals. What I'm trying to do, is forge the two together, however the problem is, is that celestial bronze a "divine" metal, while steel is not. So when I try and merge the two, they bloody explode. What I'm looking at are the notes of ancient Greek philosophers, engineers, mathematicians, and some of the best smiths out there. They were all so close but they didn't put the ideas together. The one I just got from Hades is Archimedes Treatise on Divine Metals. I'm so close right now I can taste it, I just need to talk to Hephaestus about a couple of things and then I'll have it." William sighed. Sometimes he just couldn't understand his brother. It didn't help that they lived in almost completely different worlds.

"Go on." William muttered, "I'll explain to the men that you've gone… Again."

"They're used to it by now, I disappear after every battle, more or less."

"Yeah, and leave me to pick up the mess."

"Hey you're the one that insists on invading places."

"Be off with you, rude devil. I'll see you in hell."

"Nah we'll go to different hells anyway."

"Gah can you not?" Perseus walked forward and pulled his brother into a hug.

"Hey, ill be back before anyone else needs killing, so don't worry your head, you wont end up actually having to do anything." William laughed,

"I'm sure that you don't fight at all, just take off your helmet and show your face. That ugly things got to have a medusa affect." Smirking Perseus gave William a sharp salute, before turning and walking through the tent flap.


	2. Beginnings of adventure

**Thank you to those guys who reviewed. I wasn't sure if the comment about anaklusmos14 was a compliment, or that it was saying it was a bit of a copy. My ego eventually made me accept it as a compliment anyway. While it may seem similar at the moment, I'm trying to set up the story so that it becomes a lot more complicated and interesting later on. Also I'm sorry about the formating issues in the last chapter, hopefully this workd out better.**

**I forgot to put a disclaimer on last time, sorry about that, but I have no ownership of any published books, whatsoever.  
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**Hope you enjoy this new chapter.**

Pouring some of the water from his flask into a bowl, Perseus quickly spread the water through the air to create the mist needed for an Iris message. Grabbing a drachma from the pouch by his bedroll, he quickly threw it into the mist. "Iris, O' goddess, please accept this, my offering, and show me Poseidon." He just hoped that Iris would be in a good mood. She'd been a bit stroppy since someone, no names _Cough _Hermes _Cough _had decided to make here call herself, and had consequentially given her a migraine for the past month. Yeah, not something you want to do to the only other messenger god, or in this case, goddess. According to Poseidon, Hermes hadn't been able to have a break for a fortnight before the headache wore off.

Fortunately, it seemed he had caught her at a good point, and the mist began to blur and shift, before shakily forming the image of his father, or rather the backside of his father. Literally. "Thank you for nothing, you useless goddess." He muttered, before saying louder, "That was image that will have me going to Mnemosyne for a memory wipe." Perseus could have sworn he heard a tinkling laugh as the Iris message flickered before forming again, this time in front of Poseidon, and thankfully a meter further away.

The man in the image clearly spent a lot of time in the sun, and most of it laughing, if his face was anything to go by. It was weather beaten, a rough finish from the wind, but laugh lines were clearly visible, permanently carved into their place, all of this was coloured a healthy tan, a tan that Perseus was grateful to have inherited. The man was muscular, but like Perseus he was slim, lithe and whip-like, it gave them both an air of, determination or possibly sharpness. Poseidon was dressed comfortably, never having been one for formalities, in a loose button up shirt and sailors trousers. There were a few things that made it obvious he wasn't a normal father. One was the glowing trident he was using as a hat stand. The other, slightly more obvious one, being the two-tailed merman standing next to him. Perseus wasn't overly surprised to find Triton hanging out with his father, after all, they were supposed to be brothers, it did, however, make the atmosphere a bit more hostile. Realising they still hadn't noticed the giant misty portal floating in mid-air… er…. Water, Perseus decided to try grab their attention.

"Father… Hello? Is this thing working? Iris are you messing with me? FATHER!" Perseus eventually resorted to yelling, which finally alerted them to his image.

"Perseus my boy," Poseidon called, breaking out into a wide grin, "How are you, what can I do for you? Finally decided to get a girlfriend?" Perseus sighed,

"Every time Father, I'm to busy helping my Brother and you demanding Olympians to get a girlfriend. What's more I have yet to find a girl even remotely interesting! So no I have not decided to get a girlfriend." Poseidon simply smirked at his son.

"One day, Perseus, one day. Anyway, what can I do for you, surface dweller?"

"Well I was hoping you could do your whole teleportation thing and get me to Atlantis. I still leave myself way to dehydrated when I try the whole 'Hydrotaxidia' power… which always leaves me with a huge headache."

"You are going to have to practise that, there's not always going to be a god handy when you need to get somewhere in a rush." Poseidon stated, adamant that his son learnt to control his powers.

"Come on Father, I just took down most of the Anglo-Saxon army for Zeus' sake."

"No, you need to learn to do it yourself." Argh, Perseus wanted to scream. He hated that stupid method of traveling, you had to keep track of all the water molecules in your body, or they'd simply disappear, leaving you with way less water than was healthy.

"Ok, ok, fine I'll try getting to Atlantis your way, but if I get a headache from this, I'm staying until it wears off." At this, Triton immediately began to panic, almost stretching an arm out to grab Poseidon's shoulder, before thinking better of it. Swiping a hand through the message, Perseus grabbed the book, and began to get ready for the uncomfortable way of traveling.

"Okay, all the water molecules stay with me. Keep them together." Drawing the moisture form the air, Perseus forced himself into the atmosphere, before trying to recreate the image of the Atlantean throne room and recreate himself inside that image.

Suddenly he was solid again, standing in front of Poseidon and Amphitrite.

"Hey what do you know, I think I did it." Perseus exclaimed before frowning, "Nope, not quite." He then, of course, fainted to the floor of the palace, his father lunging forward to catch him before he hit the ground. It didn't quite work. Perseus smacked into the ground, and Poseidon tripped over the body, kicking him in the side before regaining his balance.

"Take him to his rooms," glancing down Poseidon noticed the thickset book,

"Oh and put this on the stand next to him."

When Perseus eventually woke up, he was surprised, and grateful that he didn't have a headache. After that, he opened his eyes to realise that the soft, cushioning feeling underneath him was a mattress, which was completely clear, and disorienting to say the least. His surprise must have shown because a small, light chuckle broke out form his left. Turning quickly, Perseus jolted backwards, surprised at quite how close the sea nymph was.

"WOAH! Um… does the personal space idea exist down here, because if so, well, you're invading it." The Nymph continued staring at him, a small frown appearing as she responded,

"Your different. Half of you fits, the other half does not." Perseus blinked,

"Well, yeah. I'm a half-blood son of the sea-god and a surface dweller, I would assume half of me would be different."

"No, its more than that, its as if half of you is… wrong somehow."

"Wow, it gets better, just love getting told that I'm a mistake."

"Argh, no, it's more that half of you isn't Greek." Perseus looked at the Nereid confusedly, "What…" he started, but before he could finish, the Nereid suddenly swam out of the room, disappearing into the corridor. Perseus pushed the though to the side as Poseidon walked into the room.

"Morning Father." His father gave him a quick look,

"Always so formal Perseus, you do realise that the modern term 'Dad' also applies to me, not just Father." Perseus smiled,

"I wasn't sure how you would react, being a god. I though it might be pushing my luck a bit far, and Olympus knows Tyche has it in for me."

"I still don't know how you managed that. One day she's all, Perseus this, Perseus that, then the next she's taking as many opportunities as possible to turn the odds against you."

"I told you, she tried to kiss me!"

"That doesn't explain anything." Perseus gaped at his 'dad',

"I didn't want to be kissed, so I ran."

"Yes but I think she was insulted by the fact that you went so far as to jump off Olympus."

"I tripped."

"Into a perfect swan dive."

"I'm naturally athletic!"

Poseidon gave up. There was clearly no way that this conversation was going anywhere.

"So did you ask Artemis?' Perseus queried, still smirking about his win.

"Pardon?" Poseidon turned to Perseus, confusion written clear as day.

"Did you ask Artemis what I needed to do for her to teach me archery?"

"Oh yes, she wants you to kill python and bring her the spoils of war. But why Artemis, why not Apollo?"

"Because last time I tried to learn medicine from Apollo, he dragged me to a Bar and now he's mad at me."

"Why's he mad if he dragged you to the bar."

"Well he subjected me to a saga on his 'Awesomeness'"

"And?"

"I asked him if he was teaching me about torture." Poseidon stared at Perseus for as second before, beginning to laugh. And laugh. And keep laughing. The sea god actually summoned his trident so that he had something to lean on. Gasping for breath, Poseidon pulled out a rolled up slip of paper.

"Instr… ha…instructions." He managed to get out before continuing to catch his breath. Untying the roll of paper, Perseus began to read.

_Perseus._

_Your father has brought it to my attention that you wish for me to train you in archery. Understand that this is not something I accept lightly, being as disliking of males as I am, however I will agree to train you, with some conditions, but only if you should manage to complete the task I set you._

_Whether or not it has reached your attention I do not know, but the great serpent, Python, reformed not long ago. It is believed that it has taken refuge on the slopes of Ardennes. Kill the beast and bring me the spoils. _

_Artemis_

By the time Perseus finished reading, Poseidon finally managed to stop laughing, and was staring at his son curiously. Perseus glanced up with a quick smile.

"Well at least she's told me where I'm going, Ardennes."

"That's a positive, but you're still going to be facing Python. It took a god to defeat him last time." Perseus glanced up at his dad, surprised to hear the normally calm god sounding concerned.

"I'll be fine, you've taught me well. Besides, last time it was Apollo, all he would have had to do was try recite some poetry and it would be begging for death." Poseidon cracked a smile at that,

"I'm sure you'll do well, just don't do anything stupid."

"When do I ever? On second thoughts, don't answer that, I'm just going to grab some spears from the Armoury and then I'll be off." Perseus smiled as an idea popped into his head, "Do you think you could get Blackjack to head over to France? It would make reaching Ardennes a lot easier." Poseidon nodded, before pulling an exceedingly surprised Perseus into a hug.

"Don't die." He said seriously, eventually releasing Perseus from the embrace.

"Yeah, it wasn't on my to-do list either."

"Perseus…"

"Ok, ok, I promise I won't die. I'll be back before you know it." And with that, Perseus turned and walked out of the room.

Wincing from the new headache, Perseus glanced around at the beach he had appeared in. White sand swept up to a green bank, littered with trees, and one random black rock. Wait not a rock, a horse. Were those wings?… "BLACKJACK!" Perseus suddenly yelled out. Startled out his slumber, the black Pegasus stumbled hurriedly onto his hooves, tossing his head before realising who it was.

"Hey Lord, its about time you arrived. I've been waiting here for hours." He whinnied

"Sorry about that, and how many times have I told you not to call me Lord."

"More times than you've given me apples, that I know." Taking out one such apple from his pack, Perseus tossed it to the snarky horse.

"Anyway, I've got to get to Ardennes quickly, think you can manage that?"

"Lord have you seen my wings? There isn't a Pegasus alive that could get you there faster. Except for me old dad, but he doesn't count, what with him basically being a god." Perseus smiled, even if everything changed, two things would remain constant- one being Blackjack's vanity, and the other being Blackjacks annoying tendency to give him a title. Hopping onto the back of the Pegasus, Perseus fiddled with his gear to make sure he was comfortable. When he managed to find a good spot, he nudged Blackjack in the side, and immediately Blackjack started galloping forward, beating his wings faster and faster to get off the ground.

"You know, Ardennes is quite nice place this time of year, and there's this mare there that I have not seen for years. I remember one time we…"

"Blackjack, I don't want to hear about your "conquests", I swear, you're as bad as Apollo."

"Sorry lord." The Pegasus sniggered. "Though it's no surprise that you haven't got yourself a lady friend when you refuse to take tips from the maestro."

"Your time in Italy was clearly to long." Perseus grunted.

"Lord, we were both there for a year."

"Yes but I didn't come back with a whole list of new vices, and a tendency to use random Italian words." Underneath him, Black jack whinnied loudly, laughing at what he called Perseus's "Prudish" mind-set.

"Just get me to Ardennes will you?"

"What ever you say lord." Blackjack laughed.

As they came out of the clouds around Ardennes, traces of the enormous snake were clear to see, especially from the back of a Pegasus. Trees had been pushed to the side, leaving a twisting trail up the mountain, randomly spotted with smoking patches of earth where globules of Acid had fallen from the serpents' fangs. Flying overhead, the pair followed the trail, dropping slightly closer to the trees. The tracks lead to small cavern opening, and after Blackjack landed Perseus was able to study it more closely. Barely the height of a man, but of larger width, the sides of the entrance had been scraped away, and old scales could be seen on either side. Perseus turned quickly to Blackjack.

"Thanks for the help my friend, I'll handle this from here." Blackjack looked slightly nervous, or as nervous as a horse can look,

"You sure lord, because I can wait out here if you want, you know to give you a bit of warning?" Perseus smiled at that,

"No, I need you to tell my father that I've found the beasts lair. He needs to know where to come if I don't get in touch."

"Ok, I'll tell him, just… be careful alright, I can't persuade other humans to give me apples- most of them don't speak horse." Perseus nodded, a grim smile forming on his face as he stepped into the cave.

The inside wasn't much bigger than the entrance, and seemed to be a tunnel, the serpent had clearly expanded much of the tunnel, as the walls became rounder, and fine dust particles could be seen in the dim light. Strangely, as Perseus went further and further into the mountain, with the rough walls scraping harshly at his clothes and skin and a dank musty smell filling his nose, the tunnel seemed to be getting brighter. It wasn't his eyes adjusting; no it was that the end of the tunnel seemed to open up into some sort of cavern. As soon as Perseus entered the cathedral-like cave, it became obvious what was casting the light. Inside the Mountain was a river of molten rock, flowing from what appeared to be one of Hephaestus' old forges. The god of smiths used a combination of magic and mechanics to make sure his forges burnt perpetually, however many of them he never used, instead letting the out to some of the more skilled Cyclopes. It looked like that was what had happened here, the large skeletons in the corner of the room making it seem more likely. The forge itself was simple, the anvil and equipment swept into a corner and pillars running along the sides of the chamber to hold the roof. In one corner was a broken, worn down bed, which sat near a table and a kitchen. The burning forge dominated the centre of the smithy.

As he looked around the forge, Perseus quickly spotted several things that trouble him. Firstly, the snake wasn't in the cavern at the moment, which while useful in that it meant he could prepare to ambush the monster, it meant that it was at that point somewhere in the French countryside, and was more than likely hunting for its food, by which he meant people. The second thing he noticed was that the forge hadn't been disturbed for a day at least, which meant the snake was more than likely on its way back now. The third, and most important, thing that he noticed was the blonde girl tied to one of the pillars.

Perseus quickly ran forwards to help, whipping one of his knives out from his belt he quickly began to slice the bindings away, before he caught the girls' eye. Grey eyes. But that was not what made him pause. No, what made him pause was the warning in them, it forced him to recognise a few truths that would make life more difficult. The first was that snakes by their very nature do not have arms, and as such, tying a girl to a pillar was not an exceedingly feasible action for a snake.

This then led to the second point. Someone else must have tied the girl to the pillar, and given that he had not spotted anyone moving away from the snakes den as he moved towards it, it was highly likely that the person who tied the girl here was still in the forge.

This would explain the third point, which was that at that very point the most uncomfortable point of them all. The annoying prickling feeling on the back of his neck, was not, in fact, his own sixth sense warning him of imminent danger, but the point of a sword. Which, it had to be said, was doing a pretty good job of warning him as well.

**Bit of a filler chapter here, Just trying to establish some of the relationships Perseus has with other characters in the story. It does not mean that all the characters in this chapter will be main features. Again I just want to say, reviews would really be appreciated, especially relating to my writing style, which I am trying to improve.**


	3. A seriously huge Snake

**Here's the third chapter then, a bit of an action chapter to make up for the last filler chapter, and we get formally introduce to a favourite character of mine. **

**I don't own anything, apart from the new ideas. Enjoy**

Perseus stood very still, not panicking, not spinning round, and just standing oh so very still. Whoever the man was, he clearly had very few morals since he was willing to use the girl as bait. The point on his neck shifted slightly, moving away from the skin, "Turn around." The voice was deep, with a gruff, harsh undertone.

"I said TURN AROUND." Still moving slowly to make sure that he didn't provoke a reaction, Perseus spun on one heel, bringing him face to face with the point of the sword. "Who are you, what are you doing here?"

"Perseus, of Normandy, and my purpose in this cave is to slay the serpent, the same as your mission I would assume. Might I have the pleasure of knowing your name?" The man grunted, hefting the thick broadsword onto his shoulder. He looked like he had been ripped out of the tales of Vikings, broad chested with arms about the same width as one of Perseus' legs. A thick, dirty, chainmail hauberk hung down to his knees, covered in a formerly green surcoat, and belted with rope. Unfortunately for Perseus his sword seemed to be in pristine condition, without a nick in the blade of a spot of rust. The face was Viking like also, covered in hair so that Perseus could barely see his mouth move when he answered.

"Sir Frederic Chase, and yes, I too am in this cave to slay the beast."

"Might I ask, why are you using the girl as bait, when you have clearly found the lair of the beast?" The man laughed at that.

"Well it's going to be much easier for me to kill the snake if it is distracted by eating the girl. That will save me a lot of trouble." Perseus was not entirely surprised, though it did sadden him the contempt many nobles showed for others lives. Loosening his sword in its sheath, Perseus shook his head at the brute.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow that to happen."

"I don't really see that you have much of a choice in the matter. I'm the one with the sword in my hand after all." Perseus smirked at that, inwardly laughing at how unaware the man was. Catching the knight by surprise, Perseus lashed out with a sharp kick to his stomach, sending him tumbling back several steps. This gave Perseus enough time to swing his shield off his shoulder and draw his sword in one fluid movement. Bellowing in rage, the warrior managed to heft his bulk off the ground, bringing his sword up with him. Almost like a bull, the man snorted angrily, trying to clear his head, before charging. The broadsword came across in a massive diagonal arc, Perseus quickly braced himself, raising his shield to block the blow. As soon as it impacted, Perseus was almost spun round, and his left arm burst out in protest. _Why the hell did I try and block that, _Perseus thought as he quickly rolled away from the follow up, _He's got the advantage of size and blade weight, of course I'm not going to be able to stop it. _Perseus had roll again as another swing came down at him. This time Perseus swung his legs out as he rolled, scissoring the mans legs out from underneath him. Perseus used the opportunity to scramble to his feet. The huge broad sword came down again, and Perseus nudged the blade to the side with his own, before slipping into the arc. Despite being considerably less bulky than the knight, Perseus was able to knock him off balance with his shield, before delivering three quick slashes, one to the mans' arm, one to his chest, and the final one to his leg. Each time he struck, the sword tore through the poor quality armour, leaving bleeding wounds in its wake and sending the warrior to the floor. Despite the pain, Frederick stood again, gaining his balance and setting his sword. This time Perseus attacked first, feinting a strike to his face before flicking the blade down low and slicing through his calf. Once more Frederic hit the ground, and once more he rose. Surprised, Perseus backed away, giving the warrior space to prepare. Impressed by the mans' determination to win, Perseus raised his sword in a salute, to which the warrior nodded in return. Neither charged this time, both cautiously edging towards each other. Frederic swung first, a low slice to the legs, which Perseus managed to leap over, before returning with lung at his chest. The Knight parried sharply, before spinning and hacking at Perseus' shield arm. Pushing upwards with his shield, Perseus ducked underneath the sword, managing to get behind his opponent. Taking his chance, Perseus rushed forward and placed his sword around the neck of the brute.

"Yield." Perseus gasped out,

"No," the warrior began to try pushing Perseus backwards, but Perseus simply pressed the edge of the sword harder into his neck. "Fine I yield." At this Perseus pulled away from the man, and walked over to the girl.

Picking up his knife from where he had dropped it, Perseus quickly sliced the ropes holding her and removed her gag. Suddenly he tensed,

"When I move, I need you to get yourself into a safe area, perhaps the storage room, and stay there, understand?" He whispered hurriedly,

"Why?" the girl asked nervously,

"Because, daughter of Athena," At this her eyes widened almost comically, "Python is staring at us from the tunnel entrance." In a louder voice, though still calm, Perseus called over his shoulder. "Frederick, you might want to move away from the entrance, for safety issues" The big man became quickly alert, not daring to look around but taking a few steps away. Realising what was happening, Python suddenly began to hiss, the noise sounding more like a roar in the enclosed space. The crunching of rocks filled the air as the huge serpent slithered into the forge.

Perseus turned, as did Frederic, and readied himself for battle, switching his sword for one of his spears. One thing Perseus never understood was why the ancient storytellers felt the need to make Python into a dragon, it was more terrifying as it was. Over 40 feet long, and more disappearing into the tunnel, the enormous serpent was built like a king cobra. Faster than either of them was prepared for, the monster reared up, getting into a striking position, flaring out its hood.

"Sssoo, the mortalss have found my lair have they, how very… unfortunate that is" The snake seemed somehow to be, smiling at them. "Pleassse my friendssss, allow me to invite you to dinner" Perseus frowned, witty banter with a snake was not something he had prepared for,

"What's the main course?" Immediately he felt like slapping himself, that was not a smart comeback.

"Why, you of coursse." The snake hissed, before opening its mouth to strike. Faster than he could register the snake slammed forward, and Perseus' battle instincts kicked in. Flipping backwards, he saw Python slam into the ground, and jabbed quickly with his spear, but the snake tipped its head slickly so that the spear simply bounced off the scales. Keeping his gaze on the beast, Perseus saw Frederic approaching from the side. It was only then that Perseus noticed something that chilled his blood; Frederic's sword was only mortal steel, not celestial bronze. Sure enough, when the knight swung his broad sword down on the trunk of the snake, the metal simply swept through, clanging into the floor as if the serpent did not exist. Cursing, Perseus rolled to the side to avoid a burning ball of venom, before hurling his spear towards Frederic, "Here, use this, but you'll have to find the chinks in its scales, aim for underneath!" Frederic nodded, grateful for the weapon, before he started jabbing at the beast, testing it and dodging its writhing coils. Perseus leapt backwards once more, fumbling with his second spear, tripping over a loose rock the general fell backwards, rolling as more venom came flying towards him, the liquid hit the ground and splashed, a small droplet landing on his neck. The pain was astonishing, such a small wound, yet it burned worse than any sword cut. He was only saved when Frederic managed to score a blow, the spear scratching a long deep wound in the belly of the beast. Hissing madly the beast spun to face Frederic, rearing up once more for a strike. Perseus knew there was little hope of the knight avoiding the blow, as his size cost him the manoeuvrability that had kept Perseus alive. Stretching out his senses, Perseus forced his mind to recognise the water molecules in the air, usually to small to notice. Drawing upon his energy, Perseus fought to condense the water into physical form. Slowly, slivers of liquid appeared in the air. Just then Python struck, lunging down a Frederic. Reacting beyond conscious thought, Perseus flung the water towards the serpent, forming links and chains to hold the beast down. Grabbing his last spear, Perseus leapt from his position, dashing towards the creature. Summoning all his speed and strength, Perseus jammed his spear into the eye of the beast, hoping to penetrate its brain. But to no avail, as he struck the eye the beast convulsed massively, wrenching itself free of the chains of water. Golden ichor poured out of beast eye and it writhed around in pain, flailing its hooded head as it retreated into the tunnel. Perseus made to follow it, to finish off his work but had to lunge back as the beast continued to spit venom.

Knowing he could not give chase until the beast had left the tunnel, Perseus quickly turned to check on the others in the room. The girl was clearly still in the storage chamber as she was nowhere to be seen. Frederic, on the other hand, was unfortunately easy to see, as he was slumped on the ground, leaning heavily on the wall of the forge. Perseus quickly dashed over, surprisingly concerned. "Did the snake get you anywhere? Did you touch the venom?" At that, Perseus suddenly remembered his own acid burn on his neck and gasped as his pain sensors started firing powerfully. Frederic chuckled slightly, before weakly responding.

"It was not the snake that out me here, but the wounds from our duel." Perseus jolted as he remembered they had been fighting each other, what seemed like hours before. It was a miracle the man had been able to stand, let alone fight and survive Python.

"My friend, your courage does you great service. Allow me a second to collect my pack and I shall wrap these wounds." So saying, Perseus walked over to his pack, which had been swept against the wall in the conflict. Carrying it over to Frederic, he quickly opened it, pulling out his helmet and jamming it onto his head. He then reached further into his pack and found the bandages. Observing that the two leg wounds were doing the most damage, Perseus set to binding those first.

"Sir Frederic you confuse me. You use a girl as bait for a serpent, to make your fight easier, which gives the impression of an ignoble man, which you speech earlier did little to allay. However in our battle, and the battle against Python, you displayed both courage and intellect, seldom seen in those who do not care for human life. Why is this." Frederic winced as Perseus tugged sharply at one of the bindings.

"In truth Perseus, I did not wish to use the girl as bait, you see, she is my daughter. However, with Athena being a goddess, I could not marry her, and yet I needed a wife to continue on my line. I did marry, a beautiful and lovely woman, yet because Annabeth, my daughter, was not her child she hated her. This was not helped by the fact that, being a Demigod she attracted monsters to our home, putting my two youngest children, twin boys, at risk. So indeed my wife issued me an ultimatum- get rid of Annabeth, of she would expose the scandal of her birth, being illegitimate, and leave with the two twins. I could not bear to lose my boys so I had to lose Annabeth." Perseus looked at the man, pity evident on his face.

"You were faced with an impossible choice, and no blame can be apportioned to you. Stay and explain this to your daughter, and tell her that after this, if she wishes, I can take her to a new family, the hunters of Artemis." Frederic couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"You would do that? You could do that?" Perseus simply nodded at the man, before walking towards the tunnel entrance and glancing up the passageway. The entrance was clear, meaning the snake had moved into the forest. Perseus looked back at Frederic,

"Give that spear to your daughter, she'll need a weapon that can kill monsters if she's going to survive. And with that, he stepped into the tunnel. Shield in front and spear at the ready, prowling forward at a cautious pace.

As soon as Perseus exited the earthen corridor, several things became obvious. Firstly, the snake was no longer near the entrance, the golden trail leading off into the beaten down track. The second thing was that blackjack clearly had the same penchant for following instructions as he had, as the Pegasus almost tackled him to the ground in relief.

"Hey lord, you're alive! The big snake came out and I thought that maybe, somehow, you lost. I mean, pretty stupid of me huh, we never lose." Perseus smiled at the horse,

"I'm afraid I missed the part where you were involved, and didn't I tell you to head back to Poseidon?" Blackjack whinnied, before prancing nervously.

"Yeah well, I thought you might need some air support."

"In a cave…"

"Well you came out of the cave didn't you?" Blackjack defended himself, "And now that you're out of the cave, we can go hunt down that crazy reptile." Perseus sighed, conceding the point, though inwardly he was glad. Fighting the beast from the air was going to make it harder for Python to hit them, and if he tried lunging, then he would be exposed.

"Ok, lets go hunt some snake!" Jumping onto Blackjack, the Pegasus let out a loud neigh before rearing onto his hind legs, turning and galloping down the trail as pulled away from the ground.

"Always one for the dramatic aren't you?"

"Lord, if you looked as fine as me, you would be too." Perseus just laughed, keeping his eyes tight to the ground, searching for the snake. Despite having fought the thing in the chamber, even he was not prepared for the true size and majesty of the King Cobra. Longer than was conceivable, the snake had clearly not been entirely in the tunnel either, indeed Perseus wondered how it could even fit into the forge. Blackjack swept in closer the beast enabling Perseus to call out to it.

"PYTHON, YOU HAVE TORMENTED THIS LAND FOR LONG ENOUGH. BEFORE THIS DAY IS DONE, YOU SHALL LIE SLAIN." The serpent seemed to stare at Perseus for a while before breaking out into a sick sort of laughter.

"You think I will fall to you? I am Python; I was guard to the oracle of Delphi. I tormented the Titaness Leto at the behest of Hera. Only at the hand of the god Apollo did I finally meet my end. And yet I am back, immortality is sweet. Hundreds of hero's have tried to best me, you think you shall triumph, your arrogance betrays your father, son of Poseidon"

"You think your boastful claims will deter me. I am the Greek General, leader of the armies of Normandy. I am son of Poseidon, Earthshaker and Stormbringer. I am the bane of Monsters, and the leader of Men. Be you immortal or not, monster, today you fall, I swear it on the Styx." The snake somehow managed to look uneasy as thunder rumbled in the sky.

Perseus nudged Blackjack with his heels, and the horse dived down at the beast, as they approached, Perseus jabbed at the serpents' eye, hoping to blind it, but as they were moving, so was the Serpent. Over and over Perseus and Blackjack swept in, always unable to blind the beast, but at points scoring wounds into the underbelly of the beast. Python spat acid at the pair, and Blackjack had to roll in mid air to avoid it, again Perseus jabbed, but this time the spear entered the mouth of the great beast, snapping its jaw closed, the serpent broke the spear in half, but not before it was able to lodge itself the roof of its mouth. Screeching in pain, the snake used its head as a cudgel, battering Blackjacks side. Blackjack let out a whinny as he careered towards the ground, his left wing bent at an impossible angle. Just before they hit the ground, Perseus managed to make a small cushion of water. While this stopped either of them from breaking any bones, it did not make the landing comfortable. Perseus bounced along the ground, the dirt digging and scratching at his armour. Blackjack, however, was out of the fight. "Get yourself to safety my friend, I'll take care of this overgrown worm."

Taking a small dagger from behind his back, scabbard and all, Perseus pulled the sheath off the dagger, and immediately found himself holding a very familiar sword. Anaklusmos. His father had given him the sword a long time ago, when he arrived at Chiron's hero academy. Traditionally Greek in style, the sword felt like it was made for him, but at the same time not. While comfortable and easy to wield, it didn't quite handle the same as his mortal sword, the one he made himself. Nevertheless it was a fine sword.

Perseus charged, running straight at the snake that towered ten feet above him. He rolled, to the left and to the right, dodging the globules of venom the serpent spat. The Serpent struck at him, and he jumped up, using its head as a springboard. Spinning in the air, Perseus drove the blade downwards, managing to find purchase in the scales. The snake reared and bucked, slamming itself into the ground to try and dislodge him, but Perseus held tight, gripping onto the sword with all his strength. Gradually pulling himself upwards, Perseus used the momentum of the snake to jam his sword in further. Rearing back up, the snake shuddered. Taking the opportunity presented by the moment of stillness, Perseus swung round the head of the serpent, resting his feet on the contours of its lower jaw, and slammed one of his knives into the snakes last working eye. The snake tried one last time to dislodge Perseus, this time throwing itself backwards to crush him into the ground. Perseus cursed, jumping off the snake at the last minute, and rolling to break the fall. Prepared to dodge any attack the snake might try, Perseus turned rapidly, to find the snake slowly dissolving into fine golden powder. Perseus tried to spot what had killed it; his knife hadn't been long enough to do anything but destroy the eye. Seeing what had caused the serpents death, Perseus had to sit down and laugh. In its agony and desperation to dislodge him, the snake had forgotten one vital thing. It had forgotten there was a sword lodged into the back of its skull, and by throwing itself backwards it had driven the sword into its brain. Python had basically committed suicide. Lying back to catch his breath, Perseus heard voices approaching as the world began to dim; suddenly they appeared in his narrowing vision, a young girl with blonde hair in princess curls, and a familiar bearded face.

"Did you see that, he's one of us, he must be."

"Silence Annabeth, he needs aid. Get his pack."

**Again reviews would be appreciated, Thanks for reading.**


	4. Journey to a City

**Hey there, just another chapter for you guys, hope you enjoy. Yeah again I don't own anything.**

Perseus drifted through his mind, voices and memories mixing together. Occasionally he would wake enough to see the girl watching him, tending to his fever with a wet cloth, or sometimes simply talking to him, babbling in a language he could not perceive. When he drifted back to unawareness, his head was filled with images of soaring towers, halls full of shields and swords, and a throne that reached high above the ground. But all were empty, not a single person stirred throughout the building. Even though he was dreaming, every step he took seemed to echo around the city, bouncing and forth in his head. He was a wanderer, an intruder in the realm of forgotten kings.

"Perseus." The voice was feminine, yet powerful, and Perseus felt the royalty of the speaker. He spun round to face the voice. Tall and muscular the woman was garbed in steel and leather, a sword resting on her hip, and a shield on her back. The metal was brightly polished and clean, yet glinted strangely in the light of the two suns. Dark, earthen hair ran down her shoulders, matched in colour by her strangely happy eyes.

"Where am I, who are you." The woman smiled fondly, but shook her head.

"You seek answers that are forbidden to you until your time in the realm of the living is done. When your earthly span is finished, then you shall walk these halls once more, but then they shall be full of joyous celebration. Then, then shall you know me. But for now you must return. Your gods will have need of you." Walking over to him, the woman laid a hand on his shoulder, tenderly, almost as if she were trying to memorise the touch. "Go. And may the Allfather watch over your path."

Perseus opened his eyes slowly, glancing round. The ruddy glow of the stone walls immediately told him he was in the forge again. Now that he had more time, he was actually able to appreciate the architecture of the building properly. Built like many ancient Greek buildings, pillars and arches running along the sides supported the room, and each pillar itself was a work of art, intricately carved with images and plans of machines such as the fabled Talos, weapons of war, and strange mechanical spheres. A single balcony overlooked the entire forge. Pulling himself up into a sitting position, he realised that he was exceptionally light at the moment. Glancing down it was obvious why. Someone had removed his armour, probably to try and check for any injuries. Judging by the strapping and the discomfort in his chest, Perseus reckoned he had two, maybe three broken ribs. He spotted Annabeth and Frederic, both asleep against the wall of the forge, and stacked beside them was his armour. Grunting, Perseus hauled himself to his feet, and half stumbled, half walked across to grab his gear pouch. The pouch itself had been a gift from Hecate, a thank you for helping some of her blessed mortals start their school, right on top of a dragons den, and the enchantment on it made it so that it could carry much more than it looked like, and yet remain the same weight. There were limits, of course, too much weight and the bag would break, so Perseus had to be cautious with how much he attempted to put in it.

Rummaging through it, Perseus pulled out some ambrosia and nectar, followed by his travelling clothes. He then picked up his armour and began slotting it into the bag, chainmail, breastplate, greave and helmet. Quickly taking a swig form of the godly drink Perseus began to get dressed. His traveling gear was designed to provide three basic functions. It was meant for protection, flexibility or manoeuvrability, and comfort. Leather trousers and tough calf length boots covered his legs. He wore a thin shirt that was loose at the collar, and covered it with a thick, tough, sleeveless jacket that hung over his thighs. To add warmth to the outfit, he also wore a long open jacket that finished halfway down his calves. All of this was in either muddy greens or browns that folded together, however despite the colour, the clothes could easily be seen as fine quality craftsmanship.

Reattaching the pouch to his belt, he replaced his dagger sheathes, one by each boot and two at his belt. As he went to buckle his last dagger, he glanced across at Annabeth. She was going to have to be able to fight mortals, and that spear would only be useful as a quarterstaff. Deciding to giver her the dagger, he quickly laid it aside. He then grabbed his two swords from where they had been leaning. As he had expected, Anaklusmos had not been damaged at all, the celestial bronze still as perfect as the day he had been given it. His mortal blade, however, had nicks a plenty, and scratches along its length. Sighing, he reached into his bag, grabbed out whetstone and a polishing cloth, and set to work, waiting for the two dreamers to wake.

The repetitive grinding of the whetstone was, to most soldiers, a calming and soothing practise. It was something you did at the end of every battle, a ritual to thank the blade for helping you to survive. It also gave soldiers a time to think, and Perseus was no different. After his battle with Python and the dream or vision that came afterwards, he needed to sort out his head. _What was that place? Who was the woman? _Many of the things she had said had not made sense to him, and unless the stories were incredibly inaccurate, that was not the underworld, so why would he go there when he died? As the questions ran through his head, Perseus eventually came to realise he had no answers, and no knowledge to create answers. Sighing once more, Perseus set himself to more immediate problems. Firstly, he had no clue where Lady Artemis and her Hunt were gathered, but that could be solved with a quick Iris Message. Secondly, while the girl looked like she was no stranger to conflict, there was a difference between surviving a monster attack, and being able to fight, Perseus figured that if the trip was likely to take more than a few days he could train her a bit before they reached the hunt. Problems mean solutions was a phrase that Poseidon was very fond of at the moment, and Perseus agreed, to an extent. He personally preferred the phrase, 'there are no problems, only opportunities'. Perseus found that phrase was useful as away to keep moral high, and as a tool to change the perception of an issue. Negative viewpoints often led to negative solutions.

Perseus switched from the whetstone to the polishing cloth, fining the edge and trying to wear out the scratches on the fuller. A groan made him look up from the sword, though he kept polishing. Annabeth looked at him startled that he was awake, before frowning. "What are you wearing?" Perseus smiled slightly, it was unlikely she realised how much like an Aphrodite child she just sounded like.

"Traveling gear." Glancing around the room, Annabeth noticed his armour was missing.

"What happened to the rest of your gear?" Perseus smiled again, and simply gestured down at his pouch. She frowned again. "There is no way your breastplate would fit into that bag." This time Perseus' smile was more of a smirk,

"Its bigger on the inside. I did a favour for Hecate a while back and she gave me this. She said something about separate dimensions." Annabeths' eyes immediately lit up as she thought about the concept. Seeing this Perseus couldn't help but groan inside, there would be no end to her questions now.

"Anyway, I hope you're ready to set off, we'll be leaving soon." Seeing Annabeths' sad glance at her father, Perseus quickly clapped her on the shoulder, "Don't worry, we're not leaving yet, so you have some time to properly say goodbye. I'm going to head up to the surface and try and contact lady Artemis." Giving a sad smile, Annabeth nodded and turned around. Suddenly Perseus called out again, "Sorry, before I head up, I need to give this to you." He said, grabbing the dagger from beside him. Noticing her he confused glance at the dagger before she looked sideways at the spear he had given her, through her father, he clarified, "Divine weapons, such as that celestial bronze spear cannot harm mortal, in the same way that mortal weapons cannot harm immortals. We however are lucky; both can harm us." Nodding in understanding, Annabeth quickly thanked Perseus before turning back to her father.

Perseus decided to quickly look round the forge and up on the mezzanine to see if there was anything that might be of use. The ground floor was covered with broken weapons, shields and bits of armour, but nothing was really salvageable. On the mezzanine, however, Perseus found several things of use, including a couple of Drachma, a few Celestial bronze knives, one of which folded into its handle, and a small shield which Perseus thought would work well for Annabeth. Heading back down to the entrance, he picked up his own shield and slung it onto his back before starting up through the tunnel.

Outside the forge, the air was much cooler, pleasantly so. Using the same method as he used back in England, Perseus created another rainbow "Iris, O' goddess, please accept this, my offering, and show me the Lady Artemis." He called, throwing a drachma into the mist. The air shimmered, and the image of Artemis slowly formed. Glancing into the projection, Artemis showed no surprise, instead nodding in recognition. "Perseus. I trust the serpent is dead."

"Indeed milady, Python is dead and the spoils are in my possession." Perseus hesitated a second before continuing, "Lady Artemis, when I arrive, I will be bringing with me a young girl to join your hunt so it make take me longer to reach you than it normally would." Artemis frowned for a second, before nodding, very well, that is acceptable."

"Where should we meet you?" Artemis looked away from the screen for a second, having a brief conversation with her lieutenant responding.

"You should meet us in Amiens, we will wait for three days after we arrive there, before we move on to Brussels." Perseus paused before nodding,

"Very well milady, we shall approach Amiens along the main road from Cambrai, that way if we miss the dead line our paths should cross anyway."

Artemis nodded slightly before waving a hand through the mist, severing the connection.

A cough alerted Perseus to Annabeths' presence behind him. Spinning round slowly, he began talking, "You ready to go?" A slight glare was all the sarcastic

Answer Perseus needed, _would I be here if I wasn't? _It seemed to say.

"Ok, ok, jeez. We're heading for the Cambrai road to Amiens." The girl nodded.

"I heard." Perseus flashed here a quick smirk,

"Ok wisegirl, let's go then." Perseus immediately set of at a fast jog, leaving the startled girl behind. He wasn't running fast for him, and the idea was that he was slow enough that she could catch him, but fast enough that it would take a while.

As predicted, the girl eventually caught up to him, heaving for air and sweat dripping down her forehead, Perseus, in contrast, had barely started breathing heavily, and there was not a trace of sweat of his brow. He slowed down slightly to allow her to catch her breath but kept moving, trying to test out her stamina. She was doing well, most of the soldiers couldn't keep up with him for long, as his body naturally hydrated itself, and sweat simply evaporated off, both due to his powers. It also helped that he had been training since was seven. Jumping over a fallen log, Perseus could hear Annabeth slowly climbing over it before following him. By the time the sun was directly above them, the pair had managed to reach the main road. Sitting down at the roadside, Perseus took a drag from his flask of nectar, before crunching down some 'godly golden fudge' as he called it. Realising Annabeth only had water and mortal food he quickly chucked a square over, along with his flask. Annabeth grunted gratefully, still catching her breath. Deciding to be kind, Perseus gave a quick wave of his hand to get rid of the sweat drenching Annabeths body. Taking out the rough map he had been given, Perseus moved over to sit next to Annabeth. Laying it out, Perseus pointed at it. "From my working, we are here, if we keep moving, we should make it to Signy-le-petit within a couple of hours. Then we follow this road along ant it will bring us to the Cambrai to Amiens road."

"Why not continue straight through here?" Annabeth asked, "why are we stopping in Signy-le-petit?"

"Because we can get horses from there to speed up the journey." Annabeth smiled at that, relieved that they would be able to stop running.

"Lets do it then." She said, standing up again. The Ambrosia and nectar were useful for that as they returned energy quickly. Standing up himself, Perseus realised he hadn't actually given Annabeth her shield, and reached into his pack to rectify that.

"Here, before we go any further, this is for you, I found it in the forge." Annabeth managed to look both grateful and annoyed at the same time.

"Oh come on, really? I'm already carrying this dead weight spear, now I have to carry a spear!"

"Look, just strap this over your shoulder," He said demonstrating with his own, "then slot your spear into the gap provided." Annabeth tried it and while it was slightly uncomfortably, it was much less annoying than having to hold it in her hand. Slightly satisfied she stretched before looking back cheekily at Perseus.

"Catch me if you can!" and then she ran off, leaving Perseus a good 20 meters behind before he decided to set off. Running full tilt after her, he caught up with a matter of seconds, smirking at her as he passed in front.

"You know, people always say that cheaters never prosper." In response, Annabeth maturely and reasonably stuck her tongue out at him.

They ran for a while longer under the bright winter sun, trees crowding in on them at every turn. While the road was relatively straight, the branches of the trees and the gouges in the road meant the pair had to swerve around the road. Suddenly, an arrow buried itself in the ground in front of Perseus, forcing him jump over it. Landing smoothly, Perseus quickly swung his shield onto his arm and moved to draw his sword.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A harsh voice called out behind him. Turning, Perseus kept his hand on the hilt of his sword anyway. Anger rushed up when he saw that Annabeth was being held, a hand pulling at her hair and a knife around her throat. Her spear and shield had been cast to the side but they had not noticed her knife.

"Put your sword and shield on the ground quickly." The same bearded man called. Slowly, Perseus loosened the shield on his arm before letting it drop. He then drew the blade from its sheath and placed it gently on the ground.

"Now kick them over to the side." The man gestured with the hand holding the knife.

Faster than the man could blink, Perseus had drawn one of his knives and thrown it, driving it into the hand holding Annabeths' hair, Perseus quickly dashed forward, grabbing Annabeth and pushing her behind him. Two arrows flashed towards him, and he raised his arm towards them, forming a shield out of water. "Sword." Perseus growled back at Annabeth, and thankfully she understood, pressing the blade into the hand he reached back with. As he clanked round at the men surrounding him, Perseus heard the whisper of metal behind him, and he guessed Annabeth had drawn her knife.

The man who'd spoken, the leader Perseus presumed, began to roar at his men. "Attack you fools!" the men still looked uneasy, seeing the ease with which their 'prey' had taken back their advantage. "Cowards!" the leader called. Scrabbling at his waist, the leader managed to draw an ill cared for blade from his side before charging. As he did so, some few of his men charged alongside him, the majority deciding to see what the outcome of the combat was. Perseus easily caught the leaders thrust on his knife, before hacking quickly at the mans leg, forcing him to jump backwards. Perseus lunged in towards his chest, and the man parried desperately. Turning the parried lung into a spin, Perseus drove his dagger straight into the mans chest. Suddenly, his battle indicts were screaming at him, and Perseus quickly spun slamming his sword against the oncoming axe. As Perseus stumbled backwards, the axe-man saw it as an opportunity to strike again. As he swung, Perseus moved underneath and around the blade, driving his fist into the stomach of the man, before driving his knife through the mans neck.

Glancing round Perseus noticed that Annabeth was holding her own rather well against her opponent, a man of similar size to her wielding a short sword. Unfortunately she hadn't noticed the larger man sneaking up behind her, preparing to cut her down. Reacting quickly, Perseus shifted his grip and threw his knife through the air, sliding perfectly into the chink of armour between the helmet and chain of the man.

While all this happened, Perseus hadn't been paying attention to his own surroundings. As his arm was outstretched from the throw, one of the assailants sliced at Perseus' hand, scoring a dark red line and making Perseus hiss. Anger fuelled his power and he quickly sent a spike of ice through the heart of the offending soldier. Hearing a yell from Annabeth, Perseus spun round to see her drive the hilt of her dagger into the forehead of the man she had been fighting. Looking round Perseus saw that all the other bandits were backing away into the forest. Perseus relaxed, moving his uninjured hand into his pouch to grab his flask of nectar. Unstopping the flask, he dripped the liquid onto the wound, sterilising it. He then grabbed his bandages and roughly wrapped the cut. As he glanced over to Annabeth, he noticed she had a faint scratch across her throat where the knife had been pressed. Moving over to her, he poured some of the godly liquid onto his hand, before moving his hand closer to her neck. She flinched away instinctively, and Perseus stopped, noticing she was shaking. Grabbing her shoulder with his injured hand, Perseus turned her to face into his eyes, just to see her eyes close. Realising she must be struggling with the fight, Perseus gently sat her down, before moving around to gather fire wood.

**Please review, they are useful as A. they tell me what I need to improve on & B. they are really encouraging**


	5. A tale of Two Warriors

**Hi reader peoples, I'm really sorry about the longer interval between updates, I had a hectic week of exams and the like, along with a couple of performances. So again I am really sorry about that, however I tried to make up fro it by giving you an extra long chapter. I mean seriously, this is almost 2000 words longer, which may not seem like much, but it is about 5 cups of tea longer. Yeah I drink way to much tea. Anyway, I will leave you to your reading and I hope you enjoy, (If this chapter shows up in an alert for the second time, I sorry about that, I just had to make some minor corrections.)**

**Signed, Person who doesn't own Percy Jackson.**

Annabeth didn't know how long she sat there, staring at the flames, not registering the looks of concern Perseus gave her as he moved around the fire making dinner. Occasionally Perseus gave her his flask and forced her to drink. Perseus knew the shock would wear off, in its own time. Annabeth had been thrust into this world of violence, while he had been trained for it for most of his life, and even then, he had struggled to cope. As he had gathered the firewood, Perseus managed to find a couple of birds flitting around the forest, and after several appalling attempts at using his bow, he cheated, using his powers to condense a cage of water around them before killing them. Used to making camp food, Perseus quickly plucked and gutted the animals, before roasting them over the fire. He always kept some herbs in his pack, and as such was able to season the birds lightly, preventing the meal from being entirely bland.

Still unregistering her surroundings, Annabeth sat silent, working her way through the meal. Eventually, Perseus realized that he would need to intervene, to get her to interact with him, if they were to be able to travel. Grabbing two shorter sticks from the flames, ones that had been only lightly touched by the fire, he stood, kicking Annabeths ankle to let her know she should as well. She didn't move, so Perseus kicked her leg again. Again there was no response. Tired of her apathy, Perseus rapped her sharply over her knuckles with one of the sticks. At that Annabeth hissed sharply, glaring up at Perseus. Perseus simply looked back. "Come on, you need to train." Annabeth simply shrugged,

"I'll train when I reach the Hunters." Perseus frowned at her angrily,

"We have several leagues before we reach Signy-le-Petit, and we have much further to go to reach Cambrai, we could be ambushed again at any point along our journey, and I don't want to be looking over my shoulder in the middle of every fight to make sure you haven't gotten yourself killed. So you are learning to fight now." Annabeth jumped to her feet in anger.

"Oh so you have to take care of me do you? Well I'm sorry, I seemed to handle my opponent pretty well." Perseus scoffed,

"Yeah and while you were busy doing what you call 'handling' your one opponent, I got the back of my hand sliced open," he gestured, shoving the bandaged hand in her face, "When I threw a knife at a bandit sneaking up on you."

"Perhaps you should be more careful!" Annabeth bit back,

"Or perhaps you should learn to fight so that you can watch your own surroundings."

Annabeth looked like she was about to retort, but, literally, bit her lip. "Fine, I'll learn how to fight." Smiled at her, tossing her one of the short sticks.

"Good, we'll start off with daggers. Attack me."

With that they had begun, Annabeth swing her dagger, desperately trying to get through Perseus' guard, but to no avail. Occasionally, Perseus would strike back at her, slowing his blows so that she could see them coming, but keeping them fast enough that unless she reacted instantly they would hit her. As they fought, Perseus was constantly giving Annabeth tips, "loosen your grip", "Hold your knife closer into your body", "Make your swings tighter", and "Keep your stance wider". As he kept up this barrage of advice, Perseus made sure to give her no time to think, no time to figure out how she should respond or act, only time enough for her instincts to drive her movements. He knew she was a demigod, and a child of Athena, to them, more than anyone, battle came easily. Annabeth was turning out to be living proof of this, Picking up knife fighting as if she had been born to it.

That was not to say she was an expert, she still had many flaws in her technique, and her muscle memory had not developed, simply because it had not had time. No, all that could be said about her skill with a knife was that it would keep her alive. In a real fight, she would be able to survive and win her battles. But Perseus knew that given enough time, she could become a very dangerous warrior.

Bruised, battered, and exhausted, Annabeth was eventually allowed to collapse back onto her seat. While she still stared at the fire, Perseus knew that this time she was alert to it, watching the dancing, flickering lights. The training had done its part, allowing her to get rid of some of her emotions through action. Giving her subconscious time to think without the burden of the conscious. Her voice gently broke the crackling silence.

"I've always wondered why fire does that. It's one of the many mysteries I hope to solve." Annabeth said, still looking into the flames. Perseus looked at her, slightly confused.

"Why fire does what?" Annabeth looked like she was trying to shrug her shoulders, but the fatigue didn't allow it.

"Dance." Perseus nodded, understanding what she was getting at,

"Lady Hestia once told me that the dancing flames were there for the fun and enjoyment of those who sat near them. She said that they were important to the very essence of the hearth, for where there is life there is hope, and what life is better than one that is enjoyed." Annabeth looked up at him as he spoke,

"Perhaps a life in which you make something, a life to be remembered throughout the ages." Perseus glanced at her, "Sorry," she said. Blushing slightly, "Its is one of my dreams, to build something permanent, a monument to last a thousand years." She looked back up and Perseus and saw he was still looking at her, his eyes deep and thoughtful, and for a second she felt like he was staring into her very soul, all her triumphs and failures bared to his sea-green eyes. He blinked and the spell was broken. He glanced to the side, thinking,

"I've spent so long fighting for survival, that I've never had a chance to dream about the future. All my hopes have been in relation to my next battle, my strategies and the lives of my men. I have no wishes beyond that as many of my family and friends as is possible survive the turmoil's of our land." Annabeth could see the effect the wars had taken on him, written in the lines on his face, a face far too young to be lined. He blamed himself for every death, every loss. Tentatively putting a hand on his shoulder, Annabeth couldn't think of anything to say that fitted the situation, so instead she simply walked over to the tent Perseus had set up for her, and ducked inside, troubled by what she had seen.

Perseus remained sitting where he was, trying to dream up what he wanted his future to be, but no matter how hard he thought, his mind returned to one thing. His future held war, it held battle, and at the end? Well, at the end it held a city of glittering, soaring towers. At the end… it held answers.

When the sun broke over the tops of the trees, Perseus and Annabeth had already begun their journey towards Signy-le-Petit. The pair was running once more, enjoying the freedoms granted by the road. They ran, not in silence, but in a quite, morning noise, neither fully conscious from the early start. Perseus was happy to move at a pace comfortable for Annabeth, while she pushed herself, striving, trying to train her body to move with lithe precision and grace of Perseus'. Occasionally as they went, Perseus would point out different features of the land, plants that could be used for healing, eating and poison, also insects that could kill a man with a single bite. As they ran, Annabeth often saw creatures running along beside them. When she pointed them out to Perseus, he simply looked at them and smiled, telling her not to worry, that they were simply escorting the pair out of their territory, "Lupa ever was a nervous one." He said. When Annabeth tried to ask him what he meant, he simply shook his head, telling her it was something best left to lady Artemis to explain.

As they ran, Annabeth began to notice more and more, seeing how the forest interacted with itself, the plants and wildlife forming their own communities. She saw how trees moved in response to the wind, and how beautiful they appeared under a stark grey sky. As she looked around, she suddenly noticed the foliage ahead of them shaking, red eyes peering out of the leaves. Apparently Perseus had noticed it as well, as he tensed. Turning to her as the kept moving, he murmured, "Spear." She almost froze on the spot. If she needed her spear, the threat was some beast from Tartarus, and would not be easy to kill. She reached over her back, pulling her spear out and shuffling her shield onto her forearm, she still hadn't managed the sheer fluidity with which Perseus swung his shield. Glancing round, she noticed he had stopped running, but motioned for her to go on when she looked behind. _Obviously, _she thought, _this is some sort of test. Well, lets make sure I pass then. _Slowing down further, she dropped into a slight crouch as she moved. Sure enough, from the treeline leapt a fearsome black hound. Larger than a horse and thrice as wide, the beast looked at her hungrily, as if imagining what she would be like for dinner. Her mind traitorously decided to point out that without seasoning, she would definitely taste very bland.

The hound growled, the only warning she was given before it ran at her. Rolling quickly, Annabeth jabbed at the creature's side, missing her mark when it twisted to face her. Once more, she jabbed at its face, but the beast smacked her spear to the side with a massive paw, snapping at her as she stumbled. Trying to trick the beast, Annabeth fell backwards, tilting her shield and spear away from her, leaving her 'open'. The dog took the bait, jumping in towards her. Slamming her shield into the beasts face, she rolled to her feet, jabbing it in the shoulder, allowing rivulets of golden ichor spill towards the ground. Temporarily shocked she had managed to hit the beast; Annabeth gave the hound time to swat her with a paw, sending her flying through the air, her hand losing its grip on the spear. As soon as the weapon left her hand, Annabeth knew she was in trouble.

She hit the ground hard, her head thumping against the ground. She glanced dazedly around, spotting the spear lying on the ground just a few meters away. Another growl drew her eyes to the prowling hound. Keeping her eyes on the beast, she began to edge towards the spear slowly, ever so slowly. Her hand slipped on the ground, sending bits of rock spinning along the ground. Instantly, she froze. The growling stopped. Turning her head, she looked back at the dog. It was still, tensed for combat. Its ears were pressed back and its teeth bared. It was ready to pounce. It took a matter of seconds for actions that seemed to take a lifetime. In those seconds, the hounds' muscles unwound, pushing it upwards and forwards. Pushing it towards Annabeth. At the same time, Annabeth flung herself to the side, rolling away from the monster. Her hand lashed out and gripped the spear shaft and the hound dug its claws into the ground to bring itself out of its forward leap. Both spun, but the hound was quicker. It turned and leapt at Annabeth once more, its claws flashing. She barely had time to glimpse the flying fur before she was knocked to the ground, the but of the spear digging hard into the ground. As Annabeth went down, the spearhead went up. Up, straight into the stomach of the beast. She fell, still clutching the spear in her hand, and falling with her was a shower of golden dust. Slowly she stood, turning round to yell at Perseus for the stupidity of having her fight a hellhound on her own, to see him in a rather rough state himself.

-Back in time- Back in time - Back in time

Perseus was impressed that Annabeth noticed the hellhound ahead of them, as it was well hidden, albeit moving enough to be noticed. He was also unnerved. The idea that a single Hellhound would attempt an ambush had a prickling feeling run along his neck. No, there were others. He stopped quite a way from the rustling of the waiting hellhound, signalling Annabeth to go on ahead of him, telling her to take care of the monster in front of them. After that he slowly swung his shield onto his arm. His shield had a lining of celestial bronze through its centre, which was the only thing that allowed it to work against monsters. Grabbing Anaklusmos from its hiding place, he started swinging it in circles by his side, stretching his muscles in preparation.

Relaxing his mind, he tried to concentrate on his senses, and the signals of the forest. The whisper of a leaf, the faint snap of a branch, even the briefest break in the wind was enough to tell him they were close. Too close. He glanced up and saw that the Hellhound in the bushes had leapt in front of Annabeth, both preparing to initiate the fight. In the moment of distraction, he almost missed the blurs of black that dashed out of the forest to surround him. Moving constantly, the demon dogs slowly circled him. A larger hound suddenly walked out of the forest towards the circle of animals. Barking slightly, it forced the smaller animals to move apart, allowing it through. The dog was huge, it towered at least a metre above Perseus, with its head being almost as large as his torso. It walked up to him, sniffing his head before barking loudly in his face, baring a set of large, vicious teeth. "Well then," Perseus shrugged settling into a defensive stance, shield raised to shoulder height and his sword tip pointing upwards over its edge, "Come and have a go Fido." As if the beast could understand him, it barked again, jumping back slightly to give itself space.

It swung one massive paw, batting at Perseus, but he simply slipped under him, slicing the back of the paw as he came up, before backing away. The dog charged, and Perseus jumped up, slamming his shield into the dogs' face, before slicing with his sword, slicing down the leg of the beast. As he landed, a sharp pain lanced through his leg, and he saw that one of the dogs in the circle had bitten at his hamstring, only chance had prevented him from being hamstrung as the teeth had clearly sunk through the leather of trousers, though the cloak had prevented it from getting a grip. He turned slightly, but the dog had already retreated. He could feel the would sapping at his balance. Almost as if it sensed this weakness, the hound pawed at him again, seeming to know he could not easily dodge in his current state. Perseus reacted instinctively, dropping his centre of mass and leaning into his shield to take the blow. Despite setting himself, Perseus was forced back, his feet grinding against the ground. Grunting slightly, Perseus pivoted on the heel of one leg, spinning out from under the heavy force of the mutts paw. He swung the long blade up, cutting a vicious wound along the beasts jaw. Perseus then smashed the edge of his sword into the left front leg of the dog, slicing through the tendons and destroying the usefulness of the limb. The dog howled in pain, reflexively jumping away from the former prey. As it jumped Perseus moved with it, not noticing the creeping hounds around him. He swung into the beasts' side, before crippling its left back leg in the same way as the first. As it toppled sideways, Perseus drove his sword through the chest of the hound, sending it to Tartarus.

Just then, another of the hounds leapt at him from behind, scratching its claws down the back of his jacket, tearing rents in his clothes, but only leaving small scratches in his skin. Flipping his grip on the sword, Perseus drove it backwards into the unsuspecting skull of the creature. He spun around quickly, jamming his sword into the leg of another hound, leaving it there as he speedily threw a knife into the head of another beast. He then took his sword back and finished the pitiful whining creature. Two more sliced at him with heavy paws. Perseus caught one of the blows on his shield, and stabbed his sword through the paw of the other animal. He wrenched his sword back violently, driving it into the first hound, before decapitating the other. Both joined the mounting layer of golden dust. Another Hellhound pounced at him, its jaws spread wide. Perseus jammed his shield into the beasts' mouth, forcing it to gag before he pierced it through the chest. The last Hound of Hades looked at him, somehow managing to look 'Terierfied'. Perseus chuckled darkly at the joke. It backed away slowly, but Perseus knew he could not allow it to survive, in case it found others to hunt them. Moving slowly towards it, Perseus lowered his sword before dropping it on the ground, this was then followed by his shield. As he knelt to put his shield down, the hound clearly disregarded him as a threat beginning to growl once more, pacing forward. Before it even had time to register that it had made a mistake, Perseus had drawn and thrown two knifes, both driving home, straight into the head of the beast.

-End of Annabeths fight-End of Annabeths fight-

Perseus was standing in the middle of a wide, golden circle. His jacket and clothes torn in places and his normally messily spiked hair splayed flat against his head, soaked with sweat that was slowly disappearing. Blood dripped from his back and legs, his sword and shield scattered at his feet. Slowly, he stumbled forward, staggering to the edge of the road, leaning heavily on one of the trees. He quickly opened his pouch, grabbing out his ambrosia. He crunched down on a few blocks, the lines of pain fading from his face as the godly food healed his wounds. Soon he was able to stand on his own, the only sign of the fight was the weariness with which he moved.

He moved over to Annabeth, passing her the pack as they both slumped to the floor. "Good fight there- you did well." Annabeth smiled wryly at him,

"You know, I was going to yell at you for making me fight that Hellhound on my own. Now, I think I'm going to call us even." Perseus snorted at that.

"Yes, because killing one Hellhound makes up for me killing the rest of the pack." Annabeth shrugged lightly, not bothered in the slightest,

"You never know, that could have been the straw that broke the camel's back." Perseus frowned at her,

"That was a Hellhound, not a straw, and I am not a camel," Annabeth smirked at that,

"Of course not, that is why you carry all the bags." Perseus growled, his brain coming up short with arguments. In the absence of a witty remark, Perseus stood up quickly, collecting his weaponry and setting himself to move off.

"Come on, we haven't got all year to waste, this camel has places to be." Annabeth looked up and groaned, seeing he was completely serious. Slowly hauling herself to her feet, she tightened the straps of her gear and set off at a slow jog, knowing Perseus would catch up. Chuckling at the success of his revenge Perseus set off after her. Suddenly Perseus stopped chuckling, pain setting into his legs. He groaned internally, realising that his so called 'Revenge", was also punishment for himself.

Eventually Signy-le-Petit came into view as the pair staggered to the crest of a large hill. Beyond the trees hills flowed and farms encircled the small township with a single road leading up to the town. The township itself had a small population, and took up very little space, carriageways running from one side of the magnetic compass to the other. Five smaller streets branched off on either side, and at the centre of the town was the town square. This was outlined by loud and boisterous market stalls, and frequented by a bustling crowd. At the end of the main road was a large manor, which rose up above all the other buildings, being two stories tall, three including the small tower in left wing. From this distance however, even the comparatively large house looked small and insignificant. Having sighted their destination, the pair moved off with renewed vigor, increasing their pace to what it had been when they set off. Loping steps ate up the distance as aching feet pounded the hard ground. After nigh on an hour of running, the pair broke out of the dense forest, the sky above them suddenly opening into a vast expanse of blue. They must have looked a strange sight, a tall, strangely garbed soldier running next to a smaller, armed girl. Farmers glanced over at them as they jogged, and many a horse whinnied, bowing their heads in recognition to the son of Poseidon.

Perseus glanced up at the clouds overhead. No rain had fallen yet, but the sky was grey and shadowed with blackness meaning it was only a matter of time. When the clouds broke, a storm would fall to earth. Glancing at Annabeth and at his own garb, Perseus added a few more items to his list of requirements. Along with horses, food and bandages, he now knew they would need thread, and a spare cloak, plus he was out of coffee. At the point where the road met the town, a small gate and guard tower had been set up, and though Perseus knew he could easily avoid it, he decided to pass through the gate legitimately. _Well, _he amended, _Semi-legitimately._ As they approached the gate, one of the guards hailed them. "Halt, identify yourself! Are you friend of foe?" Perseus almost laughed at the question, muttering under his breath.

"Honestly, who's going to walk up, and answer, 'Alright fair enough, you got me, I'm actually a foe.'" He shook his head, before pushing back his cowl.

"My name is Logan of Berwickshire, and this is my sister Alexandra. I assure you we mean your village no harm, and that we only travel armed due to the dangers so commonly present on the roads." The guard seemed to sniff in disgust, realizing the pair was 'English'.

"And why would two of England's folk be coming to this town." Perseus was glad they believed his origins, although the placing was wrong, Berwickshire was more Scottish than English, but he decided not to make a fuss about it.

"We simply wish to replenish our supplies and purchase horses for our journey. We will be gone before tomorrow is done." Satisfied, the soldier nodded to his fellow guardsman before speaking.

"Very well, make sure you are indeed gone before tomorrows end." Perseus simply nodded in return as he and Annabeth moved through the gateway.

From inside the village, Annabeth could see some of the appeal. The buildings were all kindly spaced to allow easy movement through the village; the sky was open, not cramped by the tall visages of larger cities. The streets were wide, though not paved. The faint odor of a farm wafted into her nose, pungent and reminiscent of her home. This was more familiar, more similar to her life. She enjoyed the forest, with all the variety and color, the prancing animals, and the uniqueness of life there, however she knew that she would forever hold a greater affinity to the peaceful bustle of a town, the background chatter and ability to interact with others. Annabeth supposed that Perseus would not feel the same. After having traveled as much as he clearly had, every town must seem the same. In this she was wrong, in spite of, or perhaps because of the traveling Perseus had done, he was able to see the uniqueness of each town. He could see the differences in how the worked, how the felt, how they sounded, he could pick one town from another simply from the smell of the air. His travels did, however, teach him that all towns had a very similar layout. "Lets keep moving," he called to Annabeth, "the Inn's will be closer in to the market."

Startled out of her contemplative stupor, Annabeth had to quickly jog after Perseus so as to not lose him. As they moved through the village, Annabeth could see that things became more and more affluent the closer to the market they got. Even the clothes the people were wearing gradually changed from being simplistic and useful, becoming more flamboyant and cumbersome. Why people would wear such clothes was beyond her. Eventually, Perseus moved across the street, entering one of the inn's that lined the side. Annabeth quickly followed in, but had lost sight of where he was.

The noise in the inn was deafening. Men were slumped at tables, tankards in hand, while others laughed and sang bawdily. She caught a glimpse of Perseus as he weaved his way through to the bartender, and saw him strike up a conversation with the man. Annabeth made a move to get to him however was turned from her goal when one of the men grabbed her arm, spinning her to him. "Well aren't you a pretty thing." The man complimented her, clearly not as drunk as his compatriots. Annabeth frowned at him,

"Thank-you, but I'm not interested." She tugged at her wrist but could not break free.

"Oh come on darling, you don't even know me." Then man smiled, showing off an overly perfect smile. He reached out his other hand to pull her down next to him, but someone else's suddenly gripped his forearm. Both Annabeth and the man turned to face the stranger, only to find Perseus glaring harshly.

"She said she is not interested, perhaps you should find a different person to harass."

The mans eyes widened slightly in… recognition? Before he set his jaw pugnaciously.

"And why should I do that." Perseus growled angrily at him,

"Because this one is going to your sister, Apollo, and we wouldn't want another Rebekah incident would we? You remember how that went?" Apollo's face visibly blanched at the memory. Reluctantly, he released Annabeths hand, and Perseus drew her away from the intoxicated men.

Heading up the stairs, he brought her to a room. It was neither large nor small, with a single bed pushed into the corner and a small desk by the window. The desk came with a large and heavy chair, which Annabeth promptly dropped her gear onto, though she held onto her knife. Perseus then spoke quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. "Given that we are brother and sister, our cover demanded a single room." Seeing Annabeths awkward glance at the bed he quickly clarified, "I have a roll that I shall use to sleep by the door, which will allow for greater security, as well as supporting our story." Annabeth nodded slightly, her jaw quivering slightly as she held back a yawn. She knew she ought to be hungry, having not eaten since they stopped for lunch, however all she could think of was sleeping away the aches and pains she had acquired from the constant running.

Perseus smiled gently at the girl. "Sleep, Annabeth. Food and answers will remain until morning, just as the sun will return." At that point the sun was barely illuminating the sky, the golden light contrasting brilliantly with the dark clouds. Annabeth gave a slight mumble before collapsing onto the bed. Perseus chuckled lightly, sometimes he forgot that not all children were brought up as he was, and not all people could run for an entire day, fight hellhounds and still have enough energy to think. Deciding to follow Annabeths example, he unrolled his mat, before laying his head down facing the door. He slowly surrendered himself to a wakeful sleep.

**Firstly I want to apologise for the appaling dog joke, the majority of my humor revolves around inherited dad jokes (i.e. bad puns) and sarcasm.**** Also, I'm not sure if anyone will have noticed, but Perseus' Alias, Logan of Berwickshire, is based off the actor of Percy in the movies, whose family name, Lerman, heralds from Beerwickshire, where they held a 'family seat of power' thing, possibly before 1066. As always, reviews would be greatly appreciated, but I apologise if anyone finds my asking annoying.**

** Anyway, I will bid you all adieu.  
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	6. A birthday Gift

**Hey Readers. This chapter was suprisingly hard to write, though I managed it, and look, it turned out to be one of my longest. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading. I am not Rick Riordan, and therefore do not own Percy Jackson.**

"25 FRANKS! Robbery, nothing higher than 15 surely!" The loud voice jolted Annabeth back into the world of the living for the second time that morning. Perseus had insisted on dragging her into the market square to help with supplies, though as of yet she had done little that a pack mule could not. She almost laughed at Perseus's indignant expression, knowing that money was no object to him. Earlier that morning she had asked how he hoped to pay for the gear they would need, and had found out that helping gods is apparently a very well paid job, and that he had an account that rivalled the national budget his brother had to deal with. In fact, he said, he'd had to bail out William a couple of times. At the moment, Perseus was attempting to purchase the horses for their trip, and as usual, had picked out the finest horses the stall owner had. Both horses were large, powerful animals, with coats that had obviously been well groomed. The smaller of the two was a light brown colour, almost blonde, which darkened as it approached the hooves. It carried itself quite calmly, and moved with a peaceful kind of precision. The larger horse was clearly younger and more excitable, having reared and bowed flamboyantly the moment it realised Perseus was a son of the sea god. Its coat seemed to fit perfectly with Perseus colour scheme, being almost entirely pitch black, apart from a few white streaks that ran along his torso and legs. The animals were beautiful, and Perseus would have gladly paid any price, had the merchant not insinuated he had a reputation to keep up. Perseus had almost laughed at that point, but instead agreed to haggle harshly and curse the storeowners name at every chance he got, for which the man was strangely grateful.

"20 franks, and I'll go no lower." The storeowner cried vehemently. Grumbling something about greedy horse merchants, Perseus eventually gave in to the demands. Walking up to each of the horses he now owned, Perseus stroked each one gently, murmuring instructions in their ears. As Perseus turned and walked out of the stables, the owner quickly called out from behind him,

"Wait, you forgot to take the horses with you!" Perseus simply spun round, still walking backwards,

"They'll follow." The storeowner looked at Perseus as if he were crazy, before shaking his head and turning back.

As Perseus kept walking, he heard a loud crash, followed by a low moan of pain. He turned round again to see that the man had somehow gone through the stable wall, and was lying in the wreckage. He glanced at the two horses, who looked back at him, somehow managing to put innocent faces on, widening their eyes and shaking their heads. Perseus sighed again, "Come on you two, before you break anyone else." He spun to face Annabeth, gesturing for her to come over. Stroking the nose of the blonde horse, Perseus gradually replaced his hand with Annabeths, before realising he was still holding her other hand and releasing quickly, though strangely reluctantly. Annabeths eyes flashed slightly, revealing an emotion that Perseus couldn't quite place. Trying to break the now awkward moment, he quickly began to speak, "Her name is Roheryn, the horse I mean." He stammered out. Annabeth grinned at that, seemingly enjoying his pain.

"I figured you were talking about the horse, unless you were re naming me." Perseus shot her a quick glare, before smiling back slightly,

"You're not making this easy for me." Annabeth laughed,

"I am never going to make things easy for you seaweed brain." Perseus frowned, surprised by the new nickname,

"Seaweed brain?" Annabeth smirked,

"Why not? Your father is the god of the seas, and if you come out with statements like that then the name fits." Perseus frowned, knowing he was being insulted, but at the same time knowing that he didn't care.

"Well, I'll just have to find one for you, wisegirl." Annabeth laughed again

"That's supposed to be a insult? You truly are a seaweed brain." Perseus smirked,

"Well I needed to have one flaw at least, and if I'm not great at nicknames then at least you're better than me at something." Annabeth gaped at him, but before she could yell a comeback, he had already walked off with his horse, which, she realised, he never told her the name of.

She found him again in a leather store, and by the looks of it, he had bought enough leather for a set of clothes and two saddles. Noticing that she had arrived he waved her over to help him go through the list. "So we've managed to get the horses, the saddles, and emergency rations. Was there anything else that we needed to buy?" Annabeth frowned, thinking back to what they had decided.

"You were going to equip me with my own weapons so that you could have your knife back, and I think you made a comment about some protective clothing. That is what all the leather is for correct?"

"Yeah, I just need to step into a tailors to get him to make it, and I'll be heading over to the forge to see if I can get you some knives."

"What will I be doing?" Annabeth queried, realising he hadn't mentioned her at all.

"You will be taking care of the horses, getting to know Roheryn. You two need to be comfortable with each other if we are going to be traveling at speed." Annabeth nodded at that, seeing the logic in the statement.

"What is your horses name? It's just you never told me earlier." Perseus blinked,

"Didn't I, I must have forgotten." Annabeth shook her head in exasperation,

"Seaweed brain."

"Hey, it was a easy mistake to make, anyone could have done it!" Annabeth glared at him, still not having been told the name.

"Oh right, yeah, his name is Kaydin." Annabeth let out a sigh,

"Thank you, finally." Suddenly a gruff voice called them back to reality,

"If you don't mind, I'm trying to run a business here, not a couples stand." Both of them immediately blushed, and turned to stammer out apologies and objections to being called a couple, at which point the man simply grunted, "Could have fooled me." Still blushing furiously, both quickly made their way out of the store.

"Right well, I'll meet you back at the horses shall I?" Annabeth shrugged awkwardly,

"Yeah sounds like a plan." Nodding again, Perseus quickly clapped her on the shoulder, before walking off. Smiling slightly, Annabeth walked off to care for the horses.

The buzz of the market gradually dulled as Perseus wandered the streets of the town in search of the forge. He had already managed to see a tailor, and after some arguing over the stitching's and design, had managed to persuade the older man that the design would actually work. It took a further fifteen minutes haggling to actually settle on a price that the man agreed with. Perseus had then been told that he was to return in the middle of the afternoon, and under no illusions that were he to return earlier, it would spell trouble for him.

The soft scent of ash and metal warned Perseus he was getting close to the smithy, and the clanging of iron simply served to confirm the direction. As he turned into one of the narrower streets to cut across to the smithy, he was suddenly pulled into a darker doorway. In an immediate reaction, Perseus quickly dug for the knife in his belt, only to find it was gone, as were the ones in his boots, coat, and in the small of his back. Unexpectedly, this simply caused Perseus to calm down, before he broke into a small smile. "There are easier ways to get my attention cousin, ones less dangerous for your health too." Hermes grinned at him, handing him back his knives.

"Oh we both know you would never harm me. Besides, this might be our last conversation, you know, seeing as you are joining the worst group of man haters the world has ever seen. My step sister is not very forgiving." Perseus gave a slight chuckle.

"Is that why you came? Early condolences and to get my last words." Hermes smirked, shaking his head slightly.

"No, I actually came to help you as much as I can." Perseus frowned slightly,

"I appreciate the thought, but I'm not sure that the Hunters will be too fond of practical jokes." Hermes gave him a quick glare,

"That is not all I'm good at you know, In this form, I am the patron of all sportsmen and athletes, and as Mercury," At this point his form shimmered, growing slightly taller, older and he started to gesture vigorously with his hands, "I am the god of financial gain, commerce and eloquence. With my blessing, all attributes related to my domains will increase in proficiency, you will be faster, stronger, more agile, and with a silver tongue like mine, you may even get the ladies of Artemis to like you. Perseus was surprised, and it showed. His eyes widened by a fraction and his left eyebrow twitched.

"Not to seem dense, but why would you give me your blessing?" Hermes smiled slightly,

"I like you Perseus, you shall do great things for Olympus and the world. What is more, I never got the chance to properly thank-you for saving my son."

"I remember your boy, he was a good lad, fast on his feet, too fast with his hands." Hermes smirked slightly and shrugged.

"What can you do, children of mine always have been prone to thievery. Anyway, do you accept my blessing, and that of Mercury? Do you consent to be our representative in the world" Feeling the situation demanded formality; Perseus took a knee and bowed his head.

"I do milord." Hermes nodded, also caught up in the import of the moment.

"Then I and my counterpart do bestow our blessings upon you and name you our champion." A bright golden light burned through Perseus' body, causing pain to wrack through his body for less than a second. When he stood, it appeared there had been no cosmetic changes caused by the blessing, but if you knew him well enough, you could see the slight differences from before, his smile being slightly crooked, in a mischievous way, and a new light-hearted twinkle in his eyes.

"Thank you Lord Hermes, and Lord Mercury. Khaîre." Perseus moved across the room to walk back into the open street before he turned back with a sheepish look on his face, "Hermes, would you mind telling Apollo that I apologize for losing my temper earlier, I really don't know why I couldn't handle that calmer." Hermes gave a quick grin,

"I'm sure he'll understand, he was hitting on your girl." Blood immediately rushed to Perseus's cheeks, and he was about to start yelling at the hysterically laughing god when Hermes disappeared, leaving behind nothing but the echo of his laugh. Sighing heavily, Perseus turned and stepped out the door of a building that disappeared the moment he left.

The forge was not difficult to find, as the noise and smell got progressively louder and stronger. As was typical of the smiths at the time, the larger man wore a simple leather apron, leaving his arms bare and free to move. The walls of the smithy were lined with different weapons, swords, daggers, axes, and stacks of arrows. When Perseus walked into the heated chamber, the smith had just removed a glowing axe blade from the anvil, and was about to drop it into a barrel of water. The moment he lowered the blade in, clouds of hissing white steam arose from the vat. Glancing up, the smith gave Perseus a quick once over,

"There'll be nothing up to your standard of gear ere sir, you'll need a much larger town for a proper fancy weapon." Perseus grinned at the man,

"I've found small town smiths tend to make much more practical and hardy equipment than guilders in Paris." The smithy looked at him, as though judging the honesty of his statement. Seeming to find no falsehood, the man nodded slightly.

"What can I do for you then sir?"

"I need a hunting knife set, two Saxe knives would be preferable." Nodding the man stood up, leaving the axe-blade in the water. He walked quickly over to the workbench, clearing some paper and leather out of the way. He picked up a few different knives, but obviously unsatisfied, he put them all back down. Standing straight for a moment, he turned to Perseus.

"I have a set of higher class weapons that I could go through, but they're going to cost you extra, many of them being some my best work." Perseus nodded amicably,

"If they're going to be keeping me alive then I really don't mind how much I have to pay." Pleased with the answer, the smith bent down to haul a moderately large chest out from under the bench. The different items clanged loudly into each other as he rummaged trough the case, before pulling out two knives, both with scabbards. He quickly walked over to where Perseus had been standing, unwilling to intrude into the man's workspace. The smith quickly handed them to Perseus, and it was easy to see they were designed to be used as a set. They were not matching, as one was a Saxe knife, thick and long as his forearm, and with only one edge. There was not an obvious cross-guard, but the hilt thickened above where one held it. The other was clearly a heftier weapon, only slightly shorter than a short sword. The blade was thick and double-edged, and it had a cross-guard slightly wider than Perseus' fist. They were, however, definitely a pair, as both had a thick leather-bound hilt, gripped with thin wire, and a pommel stone that was engraved with the same images, a great hind, bounding through a forest. Perseus quickly tested the weight and balance of both, swinging and stopping them quickly. He quickly flipped one of them, catching it by the blade before flipping it back to its hilt. Nodding in satisfaction, Perseus glanced at the smith.

"How much will these cost me?" The man looked at the knives and Perseus, calculating an appropriate price.

"Eight Franks is fair I think." Perseus nodded, it was a reasonable price, generous in fact. Digging into the pouch at his side he quickly counted out nine.

"That ought to be enough. Thank you for the weapons and your time." Perseus called before walking back out into the street.

"_Hey Sir, did you bring apples?_ _The pretty lady doesn't have any apples, so I though you might." _Perseus laughed as the over excited horse ran over to him, almost knocking him over with his nose.

"No Kaydin, I didn't bring any apples." Noticing the still hopeful look in the horses' eyes, Perseus relented, "Ok, I might, MIGHT, have brought some apples, but only if you stop calling me sir." Kaydin immediately began to nod his head happily,

"_You're the best, Lord." _Perseus groaned frustrated. Was there some huge joke among horses that they all had to give him authority names? Cuffing Kaydin gently on his neck, he then moved over to Annabeth, who was busy stroking Roheryns' back, but was looking over at him.

"So do you like her?" Perseus called out. Both Annabeth and Roheryn immediately began to not their heads vigorously.

"Yes she's absolutely amazing, It's beautiful to ride on her." Annabeth replied, almost at the same time as Roheryn whinnied out.

"_She is a very kind rider, doesn't saw at the reins or dig her heels in to hard." _Despite having had to listen to both responses at the same time, Perseus managed to understand both. He chuckled slightly at Annabeths' questioning face.

"She says you're a good rider, that you don't saw at the reins or dig your heels in." Annabeth nodded, a smile forming on her face as she began to stroke the horse again. Kaydin came over to Perseus again, nudging at his hand. Realising he wouldn't be able to stop the hungry horse, Perseus laughed, reaching into his pouch to pull out a few chunks of bribery powder.

"Here you go Kaydin. Honestly, you're as bad a Blackjack, and he's a Pegasus." Kaydin whinnied, and Perseus was sure he was simply trying to hide a laugh

"Ah get gone with you, you'll get fat if you eat to many." Kaydin did a slight shrug with his entire fore body.

"Anyway," Perseus said, walking over to Annabeth, "I stopped off at the tailors on my way back and look what I picked up." With that, Perseus flamboyantly pulled a strange set of leather clothing. Playing along, Annabeth brought her hands up to her face, before gasping in a vapid and overly high voice,

"Oh Perseus," she giggled, "You shouldn't have." Taking the clothes from Perseus, she looked at them curiously, "They're different to anything I've seen before." She said, running a hand along a seam.

"Try them on, and I'll explain the reason for all the differences." Glancing round, Perseus noticed two small flaws in that plan. One- they had nowhere for her to get changed, and Two- they had nowhere for her to get changed. Now Perseus realised that they were technically only one flaw, however he felt it was such a big flaw it deserved to be pointed out twice. In order for the horses to get a proper run around, Annabeth had taken them to a large field that wasn't being used. It was large and spacious, and in any other situation it would have been perfectly beautiful, however there was a distinct and unfortunate lack of trees. Sighing, Perseus realised he would have to set up the tent in order for her to gain some privacy.

It only took a few minutes for the tent to be put up, however Perseus was still waiting, quite a while later, for Annabeth to come out. Eventually, Annabeth crawled out of the small tent, hauling herself to her feet slowly. "That tent," she said pointing her finger accusatorily, "Is the absolute worst place to get changed. You can barely move in there!" Perseus frowned, looking at the tent. It was a bit small, he supposed, and it could be difficult getting changed in there if you weren't used to it. Shrugging slightly he turned back to face Annabeth, who had spent the moment straitening out a few kinks in the tunic. Annabeth sighed again, (she seemed to do that a lot).

"Now, you promised to explain all… this." She said, gesturing at her entire attire, except the shoes.

"Ok," Perseus began, "Starting from the top. These," at this point he gestured to the thick pads of leather that protruded slightly over the edge of her shoulders, and ran inwards to the base of her neck, "Are designed to add some more protection to the shoulder area, which is fairly obvious. The belt across your front is for your shorter; throwing knife like weapons, and the loops on the back will be where your shield clips in. The belt around your waist is designed to hold any longer weapons you might gain, which is why it is reasonably thick. Everything else is simply for protection and usability." Looking at her, the clothes seemed a bit dull, as they were all leather brown, however there were intricacies and unusual features that made it interesting. The upper half consisted of a long tunic that went down to mid thigh, and with full arm length sleeves. The shoulders had a second layer of leather fastened on above them. A thinner belt with leather loops along it ran down her front, and a thicker belt ran around her waist. Her lower half was covered in functional leather trousers, which met and ran into her boots.

"Now," Perseus said, "For the second part of your present today." He quickly dug into his pouch again and drew out a wrapped bundle. Presenting it to her, he murmured, "Happy Birthday Annabeth. While they had been running, they had had a lot of time to talk, and as they were discussing their starkly different childhoods, Annabeth had happened to mention that it had been her birthday the day he had fought Python. This then led, of course, to them discussing their ages, and both were surprised to find out they were the same age. In fact, Annabeth had been born slightly earlier in the same year. Annabeth had, to say the least, bee shocked to find out he was only twenty one, and had remarked that he carried himself with the dignity and import of someone far older.

As she opened the wrapping, she gasped in surprise. Staring up at her were the two daggers that Perseus always carried with him. The two were almost identical, both the length of his forearm, they were single edged hunting knives. The blade had a straight back, a darker, softer metal to allow for flexibility in the blade, while the edge was a harder, brighter steel. The shape of the blade was curious, as it started off wide at the cross-guard, before curving inwards in an arc to bend back outwards, before coming to a point. The cross-guard seemed a part of the blade, the back of the metal curving to sweep underneath the entire blade and form a slit curve. The pommel was smooth, wire wrapped wood. Looking up at Perseus, Annabeth could barely express her gratitude.

"Th… thank-you, I mean, what… what are you going to use?" She managed to choke out. Perseus simply grinned; pulling out the knives he had just bought that day.

"I'll make do with these until I get the chance to use a forge properly, they're fine weapons but a bit awkward for my taste." Annabeth nodded,

"But, why wouldn't you just give me those? Why give me your own knives? You told me you were given these as a reward for reaching Commander in the army."

Perseus shrugged awkwardly,

"You're going to be joining a group of knife wielding, arrow shooting man haters, I thought I should give you something that is going to last a long time, something to remind you that maybe not all men are pigs. Something to remember me by after I'm gone and your still hunting" He seemed sad, yet at the same time slightly hopeful. Annabeth smiled softly at him.

"I think it is unlikely I will need knives to remember you." Perseus looked up at that, giving her a slight grin.

"We should be going, Lady Artemis will have left Amiens by now, so we need to make that road before sun-up tomorrow if we are to have any chance of meeting her en-route. Annabeth nodded, but before Perseus could move away, she reached a hand to his shoulder, turning him back to her.

"Thank you." Perseus stared at her, before nodding with a small lopsided smile and turning back to his horse.

They took it in turns to sleep as they rode, Perseus tricking Annabeth into sleeping more than he, for he knew she would have tried to do it equally. He knew that he coped reasonably well with very little sleep, as it had been a regular part of his training, and he also knew that she had had no such training. Occasionally, Perseus would bring them to a stop, using his and the horses senses to check the area. The road had long ago lead them from the open fields around Signy-le-Petit, and into the dense forest that covered most of France. The loud hoot of an owl, immediately caused, Kaydin to prick his ears up lazily, though the horses head hung low. Perseus bent over, patting the side of Kaydins' neck, murmuring quietly. "I know bud, I know. I'm sorry to do this too you, but if you keep going then there's an entire barrel of apples waiting for you." Kaydin whinnied lightly,

"_I'm not tired, lord, I could go for ages." _Perseus smiled and shook his head, again marvelling at the tenacity of horses.

"Poseidon would be proud." Kaydin shook his head slightly,

"_He bloody well better be, even Arion would have given up, going all night like this." _Perseus patted the horses' head in agreement, before peering off into the moonlit dark.

"Kaydin, are you seeing this." Perseus could feel the horse beneath him stretch forward, trying to see clearer.

"_If it is what I think it is, then by Olympus I'm even better than I think I am." _Perseus grinned, at his new friends reply.

As they came closer, details, both large and small began to become obvious. The tree line clearly broke up ahead, and the path seemed to suddenly expand out rapidly in either direction. The dust road looked incredibly worn, meaning that it was suddenly turning into a common road to use, unlike the one they were on at the moment. All that added up to one thing. They had reached the intersection. Finally the group broke into the more open air of the highway, Perseus almost laughing in relief that the journey was over. As much as he was 'Practised' in the ways of long distance travel, in a race against time, it didn't make it any more comfortable or pleasant. He gently brought both Kaydin and Roheryn to a stop, before slowly hopping off and walking over to the sleeping form of Annabeth. Deciding that she deserved some sleep, he quickly lifted her off Roheryns back, before laying her down I the soft undergrowth at the side of the road. He then grabbed a blanket from his kit, laying it over the top of her.

Gathering wood quickly, he managed to get a small fire going, fatigue making the use of flint and steel more difficult. Using his usual method, Perseus quickly conjured up a fine mist. "Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept this, my offering, and show me the Lady Artemis." Obviously the goddess was tired as well, as it seemed to take a long time for the image to form in the mist. When it did, Artemis was already staring at it, which surprised Perseus. Perhaps Iris had to get permission from Lady Artemis before creating an Iris message in the hunters' camp. Either way, Artemis was quick to act.

"What is it Perseus?" Perseus smiled slightly,

"We've reached the highway, and are about halfway in between, Amiens and Cambrai. We were wondering where you were." Artemis frowned, thinking.

"We got held up slightly leaving Amiens, however we should be at your position an hour after sunrise. I trust you will remain there?" Perseus nodded, and Artemis noticed the male was almost dead on his feet.

"We've had a hard nights ride in order to get here, so I doubt either of us will be able to move before you arrive." Artemis nodded, having heard the praise of other gods in relation to Perseus, and realising that for him to be this tiring, the journey must have been much more taxing than he was letting on.

"Take your rest, we will be with you shortly." Perseus nodded thankfully, before swiping through the Iris message, cutting it off.

Staggering to where Annabeth and the horses had collapsed, Perseus dropped himself into a sitting position, leaning back against a tree. Giving the area another quick once over, Perseus kept his eyes open for a few more seconds, before his head dropped and he slipped into an alert oblivion.

**So yeah, bit of a filler chapter, but important for establishing the little things. Yeah, Perseus is Hermes/Mercury's champion, and the fact that he is champion of both is important. How he knows about both Romans and Greeks is also a kind of majorish part in the story. Also its a good idea to realise that Hermes' blessing doesn't really give perseus any powers as such, it just helps him in terms of Hermes' domains. This is something that I am going to keep going, as I don't think that the blessings should all give Perseus awesome powers, a sure fire way of creating a character that is way too over powered I feel. Yes like I said, Annabeth and Percy are the same age, 21. **

**Again, Reviews are appreciated as a writer, and if you review I can improve my writing. Thank you for reading, and I hope to update soon.**


	7. Meeting the Hunt

**Hi Readers, sorry about the long wait, however I'm in the middle of my exams so I've only been working on this as a side project. I must say that revision is not exactly enjoyable. Anyway, I wanted to say to those people concerned about the possibilty of me using the norse gods... Everything is not as it seems (Insert evil laugh here). Also, I am trying to keep my story original, so if you start to find it a bit cliche, please tell me so that I can fix it, unless I've deliberately put it in. I hope you enjoy the story, also I have no ownership of the Percy Jackson characters.**

The world crept dimly into focus as Annabeth slowly woke. She heard voices, softly murmuring in the background, along with the warm crackle of a fire. A gentle, homely aroma drifted over to her, and she slowly twisted to find it. At the fire, Perseus was talking with a small girl in a brown dress; she couldn't be older than eight. Perseus looked over at Annabeth and made a quick comment to the girl, who laughed lightly before beckoning her over. Groaning, Annabeth stood up, stretching her aching muscles as she headed over. As she walked, she realised that the roadside was covered with small, silvery tents. Slumping down at the fire's edge, she glanced at the young girl curiously. Perseus smirked at her, as though amused by her exhaustion. Everything hurt, her legs, her back, her head… Everything! The young girl smiled at her, and some of the pain seemed to fade.

"Good morning," the girl chirped happily, "I'm Hestia." Annabeth did a double take. This young girl was Hestia?

"A… As in Hestia, goddess of the hearth?" The girl smiled and nodded,

"Yep that's the one." Annabeth was shocked at how flippantly she said it, as though it was no big deal.

"Lady Hestia, why are you here, if I may ask?" Annabeth managed to get out. Hestia simply smiled again,

"Well you see, this big lump here," she said nudging Perseus, "Was up most of the night keeping watch. So I decided to keep him company." Once again the sheer… humanness of that idea stunned Annabeth, the idea that a god was so human was strange to say the least. "Anyway," Hestia continued, "We got talking and an hour later, after some deep and meaningful flattery on his part," Perseus looked a bit sheepish here, "I decided to make him breakfast, as well as introducing him to a wonderful drink called tea." Annabeth frowned slightly, confused. Hestia grinned at the prospect of another person to share the marvellous drink, quickly summoning a cup for her. Handing it over, Hestia began to explain the drink. "I discovered it at the last 'Divines of Home' convention, where I bumped into a lovely goddess from India, and obviously we got to talking, and in the end I introduced her to Nectar, and she gave be this self replenishing box of tea leaves and an instructions sheet. Of course I tried it out first chance I had, and I must say, it is quite delicious." Annabeth nodded in agreement, being already halfway through her cup. Suddenly a bright silver flash lit up the clearing, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. Annabeth blinked a couple of times to clear her vision. When her eyes started functioning again, she found herself looking at a girl a similar age to herself, if not slightly younger. She was tall, with flowing brunette hair that fell lightly down to her shoulders. Annabeth was sure that most people would call her beautiful, as her face was pristinely carve smooth and delicate, with royally high cheekbones. Glowing silver eyes peered at Annabeth, as though staring into her soul. Next to Annabeth, Hestia sighed.

"Niece, you're doing it again. Remember what I said about the eyes?" The girl blinked in surprise, tapping her head slightly as the glow faded, leaving her eyes almost human, but with silver irises. She smiled sheepishly at Hestia.

"Sorry about that, Aunty Hestia. I always forget the eyes when I turn human." Hestia shook her head fondly, stepping up to hug the girl.

"Its fine Artemis, but I think you spooked poor Annabeth over there. Perseus should be used to it by now." Perseus grinned slightly but Artemis simply looked at him blankly before turning to Annabeth.  
>"You must be Annabeth, I was told you were interested in joining my hunt? Or has that male already corrupted you." Annabeth shook her head,<p>

"Perseus has been the perfect gentleman in bringing me here I assure you." Artemis frowned slightly.

"Do you wish to join the hunt?" Annabeth nodded,

"If you will have me." At this Artemis grinned, brining Annabeth into a hug.

"I am always grateful for another huntress. Repeat after me '_I pledge myself to the Goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt'"_ Taking a deep breath, Annabeth spoke the words. As soon as the last word left her mouth, she was suffused with a bight, silver glow. Artemis pulled her into another hug. "Welcome to the hunt, sister." Grabbing her arm, she pulled Annabeth towards a large silver tent, leaving Perseus and Hestia behind.

Perseus smiled slightly at the scene, though he was saddened slightly by the loss of his companion. Turning to Hestia, he found her in her older form, studying his face. Obviously finding what she was searching for she smiled sadly at him. "A hero after my own heart it seems." Perseus blinked, confused as to her meaning. Sighing, Hestia sat down once more by the fire. "Perseus, do you know why I gave up my thrown on Olympus" He nodded slightly,

"You gave it up because it was the only way to prevent strife in the Olympian family." Turning to face him Hestia continued.

"And do you think it would have been easy for me to do so." Perseus paused, trying to put himself into a similar situation.

"No, by releasing your thrown, you gave up a large amount of political power, and sacrificed some of your importance in Greek society." Hestia nodded once again.

"So why did I do it?" Perseus blinked, surprised at the question.

"Because it was the right thing to do, not the easy thing." Hestia looked into Perseus' eyes before speaking.

"And that is how it is with you. I can tell it was not easy for you to lose your companion so, to give her to the hunters, however you knew it was the right thing to do. It is the same with many of the choices you have made in your life. Accepting a command you did not want. Training constantly to be a hero for your father. Sparing prisoners of war from the wrath of your soldiers. All of these decisions have had harsh consequences, and you knew they would. So like I said, you are a hero after mine own heart." Perseus stared at her, shocked that she knew so much about him, shocked by her obvious admiration of him. Taking a step towards him, Hestia rested a hand on his shoulder. "Your life will always be full of these challenges, for that is the path you choose. Know, however, that it is the dark times that make the good shine out so much brighter." Perseus nodded, accepting her words. "Your father gave me something for you." She continued, reaching out into the air and conjuring a strange metal rod. The rod was slightly longer than Perseus' forearm, and glowed faintly silver, near the middle of the rod was a black leather grip. Presenting it to Perseus, Hestia quickly took a step back. As he held it, the weapon expanded out into heavy trident, the three points glinting wickedly in the rising sun. As he held it, a hot, green glow began to burn from where his hand was. He spun it in his hand, unwittingly causing storm clouds to begin to form. As he swung it it, he could feel the winds around him beginning to pick up and water begin to form around him. He planted it firmly on the ground, the thud echoing across the clearing and the wind and water disappearing as though they had never been. As soon as it all had stopped, Perseus collapsed, leaning heavily on the trident. He glanced at Hestia, to find her staring at him in astonishment. He was about to make a sarcastic comment, addressing the foolishness of giving a demigod a weapon this powerful, when he suddenly found himself thrown backwards by a silver arrow lodging in his chest. Falling to the ground, he heard, rather than saw, the hunters gathering round him as Hestia began to yell at them all. Then his hearing joined his sight in the realm of the dysfunctional.

Artemis ran out of the weapons tent as Hestia's shouting broke through the barrier of her and Annabeths conversation. The fact that her Aunt, the most peaceful goddess on Olympus, was yelling at her hunters was… disconcerting and not in the least bit worrying. Pushing aside the tent flap, she saw her Hunters all gathered around Hestia and what appeared to be a body. Cold fear began to seep through her as she realized what her hunters must have done. Praying to anyone who might be listening the situation was salvageable, she ran into the huddle of girls, barging past all of them to get to the middle, where Hestia was busy working on Perseus. By the time she got to the center, Hestia had removed the arrow from Perseus' chest and had begun using her powers of the heal him. Slowly, exceedingly slowly, color returned to Perseus' pallid face, and his breathing became less labored. Hestia sat back, exhausted from the effort.

"I can do no more, he will have to heal at his own pace now." Shooting the hunters a glare she turned to Artemis. "You are lucky I was here, if not for me then Perseus would have died." At this one of the hunters scoffed,

"Why should we care if this _boy_, dies?" Even Artemis shook her head at that comment. She did not want her hunters to mindless killers of men, hypocritically butchering innocents for the crimes of others. Hestia, however, did not stop at shaking her head, her usually calm features bursting into irritation.

"Foolish girl. This 'boy' is Perseus, son of Poseidon, Champion of both Hermes and Mercury, and the general of the Norman armies. Should he die here, the entire wrath of his father, patron and his brother William, _King _of Normandy, would fall upon the heads of all the hunters. What is more this man is likely the best of this age. Do not allow hate and prejudice to blinker your vision of the world." Looking down in shame the hunter backed into the crowd and Hestia flashed away.

"Now, does anyone want to tell me what happened?" Artemis asked, looking round at her hunters until her lieutenant stepped forward.

"Milady," Zoe began slightly nervously, "As usual, the hunters spent the majority of this morning in our tents, catching as much sleep as we could before you set us to moving again. However this morning, instead of being woken by you, we were woken by the sound of heavy rain beating down hard near our location, along with fierce winds tearing at our tents. Cautiously, we peered out of the tents, trying to avoid being soaked by the apparent storm, only to see this boy slam a trident into ground, sending a ripple of energy through the ground. Clearly Phoebe thought the boy was a threat, not seeing lady Hestia, and decided to act upon it." Artemis frowned, she could easily see why Phoebe had acted as she did, seeing someone wielding the weather as Zoe had described would have been frightening to say the least. What was more surprising was that Perseus wielded such power. Glancing round, Artemis could not see any Trident, or any weapon at all.

Suddenly, Annabeth broke through the circle of hunters, quickly moving to Perseus' side. Resting a hand on his neck, she quickly checked his pulse, before looking worriedly at the goddess. "Milady, we should move to a proper resting place to recover. His pulse is weak and he seems to have a temperature." Impressed, Artemis nodded towards to other hunters, who approached Perseus with expressions of distaste. Turning back to face Annabeth she smiled at the new hunter.

"How did you know to check his pulse and temperature? Not many girls know such things before joining the hunt." Annabeth shrugged slightly, keeping a watchful eye on the progress of the two hunters carrying Perseus.

"I used to help out around the village sometimes. I simply refined my technique with Perseus on our way here. We had a lot of time to talk." Artemis nodded once more, accepting her answer, though she was beginning to have concerns about the girl's relationship with the boy.

"Milady, why did Perseus wish to come here?" Annabeth blurted out suddenly. "He mentioned that he was already planning to come meet the hunt, and I mean no offense milady, but the hunt does not seem to be a group any sane male would wish to meet." Artemis smirked,

"Tell me Annabeth, does Perseus truly seem sane to you?" Annabeth gave a quick laugh.

"No milady, however he does seem to have a modicum of good sense." It was Artemis' turn to laugh; she was beginning to like the girl's sharp wit.

"Fair enough." She replied. "In truth Annabeth, I promised Perseus I would train him in archery should he manage to kill Python. Although from what I hear, that could be a very long and drawn out process." Annabeth looked quizzically at Artemis who smiled humorously. "You see, Perseus has a number of tales told through out the Greek world, and he is commonly hailed as one of the greatest warriors of this age. However the tales also say that he is so appalling at archery, that he managed to shoot his teacher, who was in the opposite direction from the target." Annabeth stared at her for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what she was being told.

"Surely no one can be _that_ bad." She exclaimed. Artemis simply laughed.

"Well we'll know by tomorrow whether he is or isn't."

It was at that point that there was a loud thud, punctuated by several under breath curses. Turning they saw the two hunters standing over Perseus' body, clearly having dropped him. Growling in irritation, Annabeth stomped over to help them carry him to the medical tent. As Artemis turned to go back into her tent she noticed a flash of silver on the ground. Crouching down to get a better look, she saw the flash had come from a metal cylinder with a black, leather grip. Picking the strange object up, she could feel the latent power in it. With a jolt she detected the same sea green aura of power around it that she got from Poseidon, and from Perseus, though his was now confused with the gold of Hermes. Holding it in her hand, she realized that this must have been the trident Perseus was wielding. 'Why would he have such a weapon?' she asked herself. It was obvious his father gave it to him, however it was uncommon, even for Poseidon, to give their children such powerful gifts. Thinking about it further, she realized it also said something about Perseus. Something that was, in a way, terrifying. In order to use such a weapon, the wielder must have a godly core larger than the potential energy of the weapon, and Artemis could tell that the godly core required for this weapon was not massively far below hers, close to the level of many minor gods. That he had been using it at all, even if for a short while, was impressive. If he worked at it… there was no telling how powerful he might become. She wondered if she should tell Zeus, more than likely he would attempt to kill the boy for being a potential threat to Olympus, though in his defense he would at least allow the boy to plead his case, which was an improvement on the paranoia that began in Rome. Shaking her head, she knew she could not tell Zeus. For one, the boy had come to her for aid; accomplishing what many thought was an impossible task for any but a god. The second point was that if Zeus did indeed decide to kill the boy, it would send Olympus into a civil war unlike any other in their history, Poseidon was incredibly attached to his youngest son, and his first since… Orion. Sighing at the thought of her old friend, she turned and walked slowly to the center of the camp; where her Hunters were organizing themselves breakfast.

Perseus blinked rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the dull light of his surroundings. From what he could tell, he was in a medical tent, which was a given seeing there was a large bag of medical supplies standing on the table next to him. He turned his head to look around only for him to find bundle of blond hair staring down at him. "You're awake," Annabeth said, punching him in the arm.

"Ow!" Perseus rubbed his arm where she hit. "What the hades was that for?"

"Nearly dying on me. Lady Hestia said that you would have died if not for her." Perseus looked up at Annabeth, seeing the pain his incapacitation had caused her. He flashed her a smile,

"Hey, its alright. Look at me, I'm as good as new!" She gave him a quick grin in return, and gave him another, softer, punch. Suddenly she looked confused,

"I saw you take worse hits in the battle against Python without collapsing, why was this time any different?" Perseus blinked, confused himself. All he remembered was using the trident, before an arrow slammed into his chest. Hesitantly, he tried to put together a theory.

"Well, after using the new trident Aunt Hestia gave me, I remember feeling incredibly tired. Perhaps the exhaustion and the injury worked together, becoming too much for my body to handle." He glanced at her again, noticing the silver uniform she was now wearing. "I see you've been fully kitted out."

"Yeah, they gave me a new bow and quiver, along with some protective clothing. You know, despite appearances, the clothes the hunters wear are actually personal, with several differences depending on the person. For those from Greece or Rome, the have material and designs that match the era, while for the more modern hunters they have a lot of the current designs, so long as they are functional of course." Perseus nodded slightly before hesitantly asking,

"Did you keep the knives?" Annabeth's eyes widened.

"Of course I did, they were much better than the knives lady Artemis tried to give me. Plus, if I gave them up, what would I have to remind me of our journey here? Of you?" Perseus grinned, before breaking out into a hacking cough. Annabeth quickly passed him a glass of nectar as he looked around once more. "How long have I been out?"

"Not long," She answered, grabbing some ambrosia from a pack on the ground. "Its just before lunch." He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, simultaneously pulling himself into a sitting position. Annabeth flushed bright red, and Perseus realized that he hadn't got his shirt on. Quickly moving to the end of the bed, he grabbed his shirt, noticing that it, along with the rest of his clothes, had been repaired. Pulling the shirt over his head, he shot Annabeth a questioning look. Realizing what he was asking, Annabeth quickly obliged,

"Artemis made Phoebe and another hunter who disrespected Lady Hestia repair them in recompense."

Perseus grabbed his sleeveless jacket and pulled it on, swiftly followed by his heavy ankle length over coat. Grabbing his weapons from their pile in the corner, he began to fix them back on, wincing as he looed his sword belt over his chest. He ruefully rubbed at the wound, giving Annabeth an almost embarrassed look.

"I guess I haven't healed as fast as I thought I would." Annabeth laughed, chucking him his boots. Fastening his boots, he quickly strapped on his greaves and bracers, before walking out of the large tent, having to stoop slightly as he went through the door.

The light outside was considerably brighter than inside, and it took Perseus several seconds to adjust. When his sight returned, he was surprised to find Artemis already walking towards him. Reaching him, Artemis immediately gestured for him to follow her. As they walked, Perseus took the time to learn the layout of the camp. As could be expected, the site was centered around a large fire pit, with space enough around it to comfortably eat and cook. The tents were arranged in a U shape around the fire, leaving the open side facing onto the road. Behind the tents, and hidden between the trees of the forest, the hunters that were not in the woods hunting were practicing their archery, only visible due to the occasional flash of silver. "I trust your injury is not serious?" Artemis finally asked.

"Indeed, a few hours of sleep, along with some nectar and ambrosia, and it should be fine." Artemis nodded, accepting the answer.

"And your clothes? Are they satisfactory." She asked.

"Very much so, you did not need to make your hunters repair them, I'm sure I was and unnerving sight." Perseus smiled slightly.

"Indeed." The eventually reached the command tent. Pushing the tent flap aside, Perseus stepped through the canvas doorway, and into a large stone room with windows that looked down upon fields of snow. Perseus' jaw dropped, stunned by the seeming teleportation. He spun round, taking in as much of the new room as he could.

A large, circular table sat in the middle of the room, with several seats scattered around it. On the wooden table lay numerous maps, dotted with markers and lines drawn in string. A cabinet lined one side of the room, filled with expensive wines, decanters and cups. Lying atop the cabinet, Perseus saw his trident in its collapsed form. "It's a 'Dream Gate'" Perseus spun round to face Artemis, finding her sitting on a chair by the window.

"Pardon?"

"A 'Dream Gate', Athena came up with the idea just after the fall of Rome." Seeing he was still oblivious as to what she was talking about, Artemis sighed. "Gods do not need to sleep, and as such we do not dream, however we do occasionally need to escape into our own minds. As such each god has places called 'dreamscapes', worlds of our own creation. These places are where gods talk to demigods in their dreams. Athena hypothesized that if we could bring the consciousness of a demigod to a dream place, and that we could go to our dreamscapes physically, that it must be possible for others to enter said dreamscape physically as well. Of course, she had no proof for this theory so father did not back any sort of funding or council time for the idea. Eventually, Athena, along with Hephaestus, Morpheus, and Hypnos, managed to create a working doorway to one of her dreamscapes. Finally having proof of her theory, she was able to convince Zeus to give her the funding required to start producing and improving her creation. It took another two centuries for her to make the gates portable." Struggling to comprehend the information he was being bombarded with, Perseus slowly nodded.

"So, were inside one of your dreamscapes now?"

"Indeed."

"And you and the hunters use this as your planning room for hunts."

"Indeed."

"So the room would be sealed and would block all forms of espionage?"

"Indeed."

"I'm going to guess that you brought me here to question me."

"Indeed." Sighing, Perseus pulled out a chair from the table, sitting across from Artemis, before spreading his hands in a 'ask away' gesture. Taking the hint, Artemis leaned forward over the table, resting her elbows on the surface and pressing her palms together, the tips of her fingers underneath the end of her nose.

"Firstly, did you manage to kill Python?" Perseus shot her an incredulous look; surely she knew he had.

"I did, though I would not have managed it, or recovered from my injuries so quickly, without Annabeth and her father." Artemis frowned,

"That is a different story to the one Annabeth tells. She said you killed the snake single handedly." Perseus sighed.

"I first fought the snake in its lair, one of Hephaestus' old forges, however I was not alone. Moments before the snake arrived, I had been fighting Annabeths father, who had been given little choice other than to get rid of her. When the snake appeared, he and I both worked to force the snake out of the cave. Afterwards, I fought Python, along with a Pegasus named Blackjack. Despite being injured and having Blackjack taken out of the fight, I managed to eliminate the beast- though only barely." Artemis blinked, surprised. Despite not being the god of truth, she had spent enough time around Humans to know when one was lying, and Perseus had not told a single lie in that recounting.

"Very well. Do you have the spoils of the conflict?" Perseus nodded, tacking a small wooden grip from the quiver at his side. Artemis was about to growl at him, until he flicked his arm, causing the rest of the bow to snap into existence. He placed it on the table, sliding it across to her. Picking up the bow, she almost jumped in surprise as it began to shimmer and shift, before settling on a glowing silver bow, much like the one she already owned, although more ornate. Frowning slightly, she turned to Perseus. "Why is the bow decorative for me, but for you, it was simply functional?" Perseus shrugged.

"Perhaps it is attuned to what the holder wishes. Although, a quiver should have appeared for you" Artemis glanced around, checking, before shaking her head. Perseus furrowed his brow in confusion.

"When I held the bow, the quiver appeared, hanging from my waist, appearing to be only half the length of the arrows it provided." Artemis nodded, though Perseus could not tell if she were confused, irritated, or another emotion entirely.

"It seems," she started slowly, "That the bow has coded itself to you, only allowing you to fully utilize it." Perseus froze, hoping that she wouldn't be irritated with him. Looking up at him now, Artemis continued to speak.

"While this is not ideal, I was planning on giving you this bow anyway, simply after your training." She hesitated, "Indeed, I think I shall continue with that plan, simply because I cannot use it, it does not mean I need to allow you to have possession a deadly weapon, one which you cannot use safely at the best of times." Perseus couldn't think of a counter argument, everything she said was valid and logical. "On the subject of deadly weapons, would you mind explaining to me exactly why you were using this," At this point she picked up the trident and dropped it on the table in front of him, "In the middle of my camp." Perseus reached towards the weapon, only to have Artemis slap his hand away.

"Lady Hestia gave me the bow this morning, after you left with Annabeth to sort her out with gear. I was simply getting a feel for it, before I realized the effect it was having on the weather. I assure, I meant no harm."

"I believe you, however I don't want you to use this again when in my camp. If you wish to train with it, you can go to secluded spot, or, better yet, you can ask me and I will bring you to a dream scape, where I will be able to teach you." Perseus looked up, stunned at the goddess' statement.

"You would train me?" Artemis frowned.

"Of course, I am going to be training you in archery anyway, so one more weapon will not make much of a difference. Also, the faster you learn to use this godly weapon, the better you will be at your guardian duties." Perseus blinked.

"Guardian duties?"

"Indeed, while you are here you will be acting as a guardian for the hunters, at least, when I am not training you." Perseus immediately became wary.

"What will these 'duties' include?"

"Nothing too strenuous, do your fair share of the chores, make sure the areas we camp in are secure locations, take at four of the night shifts as a sentry, and protect the hunt in battle. Also I would appreciate it if you would train my girls in close combat, however that is a request not an order." Perseus dipped his head in acquiescence.

"Perhaps it would be better if we were to wait for a while before I begin to train the girls. Give them a chance to become accustomed to my presence so to speak."

Artemis nodded quickly in agreement; simply glad he had agreed to train them. While she might not like the fact that she was going to a man for help, she could not help but admit that he was one of the most accomplished fighters of the age, and that if there was any man she would ever consider worthy of training her girls, he was it. After all, all of Olympus knew what he had done for Athena, despite her original dislike of him.

Picking up the trident, Perseus quickly looked over his person, trying to find a place to store it. Finally he realized he didn't have anywhere available. Rolling her eyes, Artemis finally gave up on the idea of him figuring it out himself. "Unlike your sword or bow, that trident is a truly godly weapon, and as such it can be summoned like one. Think. How does your father summon and store his trident." Frowning, Perseus tried to remember. He had a faint memory of his father with his trident, and the weapon seemingly disappearing into water.

"Water. He stored it as water." Artemis nodded exaggeratedly,

"Yes, now try to do the same." Perseus closed his eyes, concentrating. Slowly, he exerted his will over the trident, his brow folding as he force the metal to shift and waver, falling from his hands and disappearing from the ground. Opening his eyes, he found Artemis smiling at him, seemingly proud.

"Well done. Now you should be able to call it back to you at will. And it should be much easier." Suddenly, Artemis tensed, an almost scared look creeping into her eyes. She turned and sprinted out of the room. Perseus quickly unsheathed Anaklusmos, before heading out after Artemis.

The sight that greeted him was not friendly. Somehow, a group of monsters had managed to sneak up on the hunt, and now they were surrounded, the hunters' defensive circle being forced ever tighter as hunters fell to injury and were quickly dragged back by their fellows. Perseus saw Annabeth narrowly dodge the swipe of a hellhound paw, and began to sprint towards her. As he neared, the hellhound managed to catch her in the side, sending her tumbling backwards. He roared in anger, leaping towards the beast and dispatching it with a quick strike. He slung his shield round, slipping it onto his arm, and continued to attack. Anger fueled his strikes, and not a single move was wasted. Ever stroke did damage to the enemy and every block saved either himself or a hunter. He buried his sword in the head of a Cyclops, before using his now free hand to send a dagger flying into the eye of a hellhound attempting to sneak up on Artemis' lieutenant. He snatched up his sword once more as he turned around. He was shoved back a few steps as a club hit his shield. A claw swiped his face forcing him to duck. He lashed out, ramming the hound with his shield, before following up with a quick thrust through its heart. He jumped over the club of the Cyclops and spun, chopping off its arm. As it crumbled to dust he ran on, slashing at another hellhound. Wherever he went in the battle, a whirlwind of golden sand followed, however for each monster he killed, another, if not two, took its place. The hunters quickly found themselves backed against the fire, and Perseus found himself next to Artemis. "Do you think you can get your hunters to the command tent?" Artemis nodded slightly in response, reluctant to waste unnecessary energy.

"Why?" Perseus quickly block an incoming arrow, courtesy of the Dracanae archers.

"You know that weapon you told me not to use as it's to powerful and I'm not properly trained to use it? Well I think this might be the perfect time for a bit of untamed power." Artemis shot a sideways glance at him.

"Are you sure you can handle it."

"It is my judgment as a warrior that if I do not at least try, then the hunt is not likely to last much longer." Artemis took a spare second to glance around the clearing, before shaking her head.

"Very well, lets move. HUNTERS, TO THE COMMAND TENT!" she yelled out. Gradually, the silver block of hunters began to move, shifting through the sea of dark monsters. As they moved, Perseus began to reserve as much godly energy as he could. He did not commonly use his powers, though he was skilled with them. He knew from experience that powers could fail or be blocked, but the only thing that could beat technique was someone with better technique. And there were very few people who could boast better technique than him. The reached the tent and Artemis began directing the hunters inside. As the last hunter entered, another hunter leaning injured on her shoulder, Perseus summoned a wall of water to force the monsters back.

Focusing on his hand, Perseus summoned his trident back to his hand. Water ran up from the ground, and Perseus could see the metal trident forming in his grip. With a burst of green energy the trident appeared, solid and glowing with power. Releasing control of the wall of water, Perseus began to move. He swung the trident in a circle, summoning winds to his command. Raising the trident overhead Perseus could _feel_ as the storm cloud rolled overhead. He seemed to instinctively know what he ought to do, so instead of thinking, he surrendered to his instincts. He spun, waves forming and crushing rows of monsters. He blocked and thrust, each motion of the trident summoning the powers of the storm bringer. He slammed the trident down, sending an earthquake smashing through the ground at the monsters feet. In truth, he did not know much of what he did. Only that the power he wielded crushed his enemies to his feet. The storms raged for what seemed to be hours, but in reality it was barely one. He saw the forest, torn and shredded by his power, but empty of any monsters. He took a few steps, the trident falling from his grasp, disappearing into mist before he fell to his knees, collapsing to the dirt in front of the last tent standing. He entered unconsciousness, his just reward.

**I hope the characters don't seem to be OOC, however my idea is that, with Artemis for example, her man hating views haven't developed to quite the same stage. I hope you enjoyed reading, and any reviews are appreciated.**


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